Fate of The Strong
by Cybertramon001
Summary: By a quirk of fate, The Holy Grail War will call upon heroes never seen before. Villains, saints, mercenaries, and mages. But all have one thing in common. They all completely change their worlds. They all achieved the impossible. And now they fight each other for their wishes. May the world tremble before their might. Rated M because it might be too violent for T.
1. Day of the Servants

**Hey there. Cybertramon here. Haven't been on for ages, but this story kept rattling round in my head. I don't expect many viewers, but I will appreciate it. Rest assured that I ****will**** finish this story, no matter what.**

**Finally, I do not own Fate/Zero, Type Moon, or any of the games and characters that are in this story. I will try to stay in character, but I am using my interpretations of them.**

Normal – Normal text

"**Bold"** – Noble Phantasms

_Italics_ – Flashback

"_Italics"_ - Thoughts

Chapter 1: Day of the Servants

**(3 years ago, an empty warehouse)**

Kirei Kotomine was feeling very confused. He had done the ritual perfectly, intent on summoning the Old Man of the Mountains. He hadn't needed a catalyst, as the word Assassin was enough. But something had clearly gone wrong.

Standing in the summoning circle was a tall man in a black bodysuit, with a patchwork of grey and white on the chest, legs and arms. Pouches hanged just below a thick belt and armour jutted out at the legs and shoulders. He had only four fingers on each hand and his helmet was a curved featureless black mask. Strangely, a red zero projected from the mask and was painted on his chest right over the heart.

_"Maybe I should've found a catalyst beforehand."_ Kirei thought as he looked the servant over. It was impossible to tell what he thought behind that mask, except that the zero on his helmet had changed to say WTF.

"Sir, I ask of you. /Because I am Assassin /are you my master?" The servant asked in haiku with an electronic male voice.

Perplexed, but pleased he was still an Assassin, Kirei replied. "I am. If you will follow me, we can start preparing."

A smiley face was projected. "I strike from shadows. /Killing all who in my path. /The Grail is yours."

**(===I=)**

**(1 week ago, Tohsaka Mansion)**

Though Tokiomi Tohsaka looked calm, inside he was reeling. When his apprentice Kirei contacted him about the strange Assassin, Tohsaka thought it had been a 'glitch' with the ritual. But even with all the preparations he had done, he also failed to summon the servant he wanted.

In front of him was an armoured individual that looked strangely enough like a walking cat. A thin tail waved behind him as armoured ears twitched in surprise. The armour was black as well, with red detailing and large red jewels on the knees, lower arms, shoulders and chest. Red lines glowed on the chest and ears, and a red visor gazed at them ominously. Behind him were strange glowing green wings extending past his ears.

"Whoa. Guess we're not in Polaris anymore Clank." The cat said as he looked up at the masters. His voice sounded like he was a young adult.

"Indeed Rat… Archer." A voice replied behind the servant. "My nav-unit say we are not in any known galaxy, but it does say that we have gone back by several decades."

"Great. That won't be good for the Time-Space continuum." He looked back at the masters. "Okay. So I'm guessing that one of you two is my 'master' then?"

Tokiomi stepped forward. "I am your master, Archer. But I must ask if you know what has happened to Gilgamesh."

The servant looked confused with his head tilt. "Gilgawho? I have no clue who that is. I was just minding my own business when I wound up here."

Tokiomi sighed. "Do you at least understand your mission?"

"Yeah. Fight the other servants, win and get the Grail."

_"Well that's something to be thankful for."_

**(===I=)**

**(Same time, Fuyuki Hyatt Hotel)**

Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi was very frustrated. No scratch that, furious. Some arrogant upstart had the gall to steal his first catalyst belonging to Alexander the Great. Fortunately he had a second for if that happened, an item belonging to Dairmuid Ua Duibhne. But it seemed that fate absolutely despised him, because it was clear that the woman in front of him was **not** who he wanted.

She was a tall bronze-skinned lady, with dark wavy hair braided at the very end. Her clothing comprised of a blue sari over a black singlet, with gold bands and tattoos adorning her arms and black sleeves covering the lower arms. Her feet were clad in tall open-toed sandals and two fur pelts hanged from her belt. On her back was a tall staff, adorned on either head by large curved spikes.

"You are not Dairmuid." He said, keeping his tone cordial. He may be angry, but if this was a servant then she would still be stronger than him and his betrothed.

"Never heard of anyone with that name." She replied in an Australian accent. "But I am the Lancer of this war. Now, which one of you is my master?"

"I am your master." Kayneth said arrogantly, displaying the command seals on his hand. "But my beloved, Sola, with be providing you with mana during this war." He pointed to Sola, standing next to him and gazing with surprise at this strange servant. Wearing a normal white shirt and black pants combo, her red hair hanging low around her face, Kayneth saw her in all her beauty.

Lancer nodded. "Right then. Can't wait to get started."

**(===I=)**

**(Fuyuki Forest)**

Waver Velvet managed to sit up after the blast of wind from the summoning. His heart was fit to bursting in excitement as he waited for the mist to dispel.

_"I've done it!"_ He kept thinking over and over again. _"I completed a summoning."_ It had not been easy. After Lord El-Melloi ridiculed his thesis in class, Waver wanted to get back at him so much. Fortune smiled on him when a mailer asked him to hand a parcel to Melloi. Instead of heading back, he found a private area to open it. Inside was a tattered red cloak, which he learned was a catalyst to summon the great Alexander. Wasting no time, and not stopping in case reason returned to him, he booked a flight over to the Fuyuki City, where the Grail War will begin. He acquired all the necessary components for the ritual. Finally here he was, a master in the War. He will win this and prove to everyone that he is as good as the rest of those jerks.

As the mist cleared though, his heart plummeted.

It was clearly not Alexander. For starters, Alexander was short, whereas this servant towered over him at about 7 feet. Alexander was said to wear standard Greek armour and a red cape, when this servant was covered head-to-toe in olive form-fitting sci-fi armour. The only splash of colour was an orange visor for a face. He looked down at Waver for a few seconds, before saluting him.

"Rider reporting for duty." He said in a deep voice. "Given that you are the only person here you must be my commanding officer."

"Ye-Yes." Waver said as he got up.

Rider nodded. "I am Master Chief Petty Officer John 117 of the UNSC SPARTAN project."

Waver sighed. This guy was definitely not Alexander. His musings were interrupted when Rider suddenly spoke to thin air. "Cortana, access the information depositories of our current location."

"Who are you talking to?" Waver asked. Could his servant have some kind of familiar or ghost? Was this 'Cortana' his phantasmal beast?

"Analysing." Rider said in a female voice, surprising Waver. "Oh, and Chief? It's called 'The Internet'. As for our current location, we are currently in Fuyuki City, Japan in the year 1993."

"Understood." Rider said in his deep voice. He looked to Waver again. "Do you have a base of operations, sir?"

"Yeah" Waver answered, almost making it sound like a question. He gave Rider the address of the Mackenzie house.

"Got it. Placing Nav Points leading to the address." The female voice said again.

Rider nodded again. **"Forward unto Dawn: Mongoose."** A wireframe of a four-wheeled motorcycle glowed for a moment before becoming solid. Rider got onto the vehicle before grabbing Waver. Ignoring his cry of outburst, Rider planted Waver right behind him before gunning the cycle. Waver quickly grabbed hold of the armoured soldier before he fell off, screaming as they picked up speed.

_"Why did I think this was a good idea?"_ Waver thought as they bounced over the hills.

**(===I=)**

**(Matou Manor Basement)**

"I must say Kariya I am impressed." Zouken Matou said to his son. Kariya settled for merely glaring at the old man. He grimaced as the crest worms writhed with in him, devouring his insides to convert into mana. "To have lasted for a year is quite an achievement, especially for one as weak as you." Inside the summoning circle was a black pauldron, clearly meant to be the catalyst. "To make up for your weak magic circuits I have taken the liberty of choosing a very powerful servant for you. Lancelot of the Round Table. And I changed the incantation to summon the berserker class. This should ensure you don't fall in the first few minutes at least."

Kariya sighed as he dragged himself to stand before the summoning circle. _"For Sakura,"_ he repeated to himself over and over again. _"I must win for her freedom."_ He spoke the words of the summons, making sure to include the two new verses that Zouken included. He felt the pull on his mana as something came through from the other side. As the mist cleared, his heart sank.

Instead of the knight he was expecting there was merely a large puddle of blood, as though his servant had been run over by a steamroller. It quivered every now and then but it did not move. Zouken laughed.

"Well Kariya, it seems you're even more inept than I thought. Only you could've…" But whatever Zouken was about to say was ignored as the puddle spread with alarming speed. The crest worms scurrying around the edge of the room were swamped by the puddle as it move in unnatural directions. It stopped just shy of Kariya, as though he was surrounded by a barrier, but it continued to Zouken. The old man threw fireballs at the puddle, but it kept moving closer. Zouken reverted into the worms that made up his body, scurrying for the ventilation shaft. But the puddle was faster, jumping up like a wave and drowning the worms. Kariya thought he heard the old man screaming in fear and pain. Looking back at the circle as the puddle retreated, he saw it getting taller. Bones formed red from the puddle as organs and muscles grew. Black tendrils swirled around it as flesh covered his insides and cloth flowed over him. After a few moments the puddle was gone, and standing before him was a man.

The man was wearing blue jeans and a black sweatshirt over a white dress shirt. He had a relaxed pose with his hands in his pockets as he gazed at Kariya with icy blue eyes. Finally, he spoke.

"So." He said in a gravelly voice. "Zouken tells me you are my Master. You're mana was pitiful so he had increased it with crest worms and that you're entering to save young Sakura from his foul work."

Kariya stared in surprise. "How did you…?"

The servant smiled a predator's smile. "When I consume the living, I learn everything they know. Their wishes, their skills, their fears." Black tendrils swirled around him as Zouken stood in his place. "You might even say I become them." He said in Zouken's voice. "Or rather, they become me." He turned back to normal and stepped closer to Kariya. "If you'd like, I could modify your body. Remove the worms, fix the damage, make you stronger, faster, better at magic. I could even remove the worms from Sakura."

Kariya didn't hesitate. Even with Zouken dead, he will follow by the end of the war. Sakura needed the healing, and someone to care for her. Anyone other than Tohsaka. "Do it."

Berserker nodded, before forming a needle in his hand. He stabbed Kariya in the thigh before moving to the stairs. "It'll take until tomorrow for the changes to finish. I make it faster, but you'd most likely not survive the cure."

They were now in the main hallway of the manor, heading down to Sakura's room. Luckily, she had decided to meet them halfway. "Uncle Kariya?" she asked sleepily. "Who's that man with you?"

"Hey Sakura." Kariya said gently. "This is my servant Berserker. He killed Zouken for us, and he has a way of curing you of the worms."

"Really?" she asked, her face brightening up now that the old man couldn't hurt her anymore. "Can you really do that Mr Berserker?"

He nodded. "Call me Dr Mercer." He had the needle in his hand again, but it was shorter than the one he used on Kariya. "Just stand still and hold out your arm." He said gently. He placed the needle against her arm and injected her. "You'll feel better by tomorrow, Miss. Sorry I don't have a lollipop for you."

"Sakura hugged Berserker. "Thank you Dr Mercer." With that, she headed back to bed.

_"Don't worry Sakura."_ Kariya thought. _"I win this War, and then you, me, Aoi and Rin can be a family."_

**(===I=)**

**(Einzbern Family Church)**

A chill came over Kiritsugu Emiya as the summoning commenced. Ice formed over the altar and crosses. Only Avalon remained normal, as though its holy power made it immune. The breath of everyone came out in plumes of steam as the temperature lowered. Clearly they hadn't summoned the King of Knights, King Arthur.

As the light dissipated, Emiya got a better look at his servant. He was tall. Taller than him even. He wore strange plate armour made to look like it was decorated with bones and skulls. His right shoulder was covered by a massive pauldron made to look like a giant's skull and the left was as large and covered in spikes. He had fur covering his boots with a skull below the knees and a cloth hanging from his belt. A black tattered cape hanged from the shoulder plate. On his head he wore a tall spikey helmet that reminded Emiya of Sauron from Lord of the Rings and long white hair hanged over his chest. In his right hand he held a large sword. It had a curved guard with another skull on the pommel, runes on the blade and frost forming around it.

Cold glowing blue eyes stared at them before he spoke. "Which of you calls themselves my master?" His voice was young, yet old, and a deeper voice echoed.

"I am your master, as recognised by the Holy Grail." Emiya said as he showed his command seals. "Irisviel here will pretend to be to be your master for the duration of this war. Guard her with your life."

Emiya could tell Saber was smirking behind his mask. "Meaning the other masters won't be looking for you, you protect your… companion, and when she dies they won't expect me to still be around. Very ingenious and very deceiving." He laughed a creepy chuckle. "I approve."

Emiya frowned. "I am not interested in your approval. I merely expect you to operate at your best and win the Grail."

"I understand Master…?" Saber said as he awaited his master's name.

"Kiritsugu Emiya."

**Well, that's the first chapter. If you're reading this, please give a review. No flaming or trolling please. Constructive words preferred.**

**Also, I'm experimenting with different story breaks to smooth out the narrative. So all those weird symbols you see will be my attempts until something works and looks good.**

**Until next time.**


	2. Bloody People Murder People

**Ok then. The final Servants are going to show up in this chapter. We get to know Saber a bit more. And we see Assassin's failed attack on Tohsaka Manor.**

**Once again, I don't own any of these stories and characters. All rights go to their rightful owners. I'm not making money from this.**

Chapter 2: Bloody People Murder People

**(4 days ago, Einzbern Castle)**

Irisviel smiled as she looked out the window. Her husband Kiritsugu was outside in the snowy forest with their dear Illya. They were playing a game and it was the few times Kiri actually seemed happy. She knew that if he could, he would happily stay here with the both of them and forget the world.

_ "If only I could survive past the end of the War."_ She thought sadly. She already knew she was going to die. It was an undeniable fact, just like the fact she wasn't actually human. As a homunculus tied to the Grail War, she would be lucky to live till the end of the War. But as long as Kiri got his chance to wish for world peace, then she would do anything.

Movement out of the corner of her eye surprised her. Looking closer, she saw that it was Saber himself, his white hair invisible against the snow. He had dematerialised his armour and wore a black suit provided by Kiritsugu. Going by the name Arthas, he was skinnier than he appeared and his skin was sallow. He clearly was good-looking, but some of those looks were withered. He didn't wear any winter clothing, because he said that his kingdom was far colder than this. Kiritsugu was coming back and spotted him. They just stood there for a bit, before Kiri told Illya to head back inside.

Iri felt curious. What could it be that Arthas wanted to talk to Kiri about?

**(/\/\)**

"I've been reading about you, Magus Killer." Saber said, ignoring the snow falling on him. "You are someone who does not care for the cost, only that monsters are stopped. You would kill a town of hundreds to save thousands. You do not let things like morality stop you from succeeding."

"You approve?" Emiya asked, remembering what Saber said when he'd first been summoned days before.

"Indeed. In fact, we are very alike." Saber said as he walked closer to Emiya. Anything not covered by frost and snow was blanketed in ice at his passing. "Long ago, before I realised the true nature of the living and the order of the Scourge, I called them enemy. A cult worshipping them spread disease through grain. Any who ate it became infected, falling and then rising as the undead. The town of Stratholme was one such victim. I knew that the only way to end their suffering, and the threat they posed to Lorderan, was to cull every last infected."

"But my closest allies could not, or would not, see that. They were blinded by mercy. They did not realise that by letting them live we would allow the death of even greater magnitudes. They refused, and so I had them and their sympathisers leave before they got in our way. And so all those who were still loyal to their prince helped me do what was needed. Let my tale be a lesson, Master. Allies are useful, family motivates us. But be ready to cast aside either when they threaten your mission." And with that, Saber headed back inside, probably to train again.

Emiya smiled slightly as he realised just how alike the two were. They were both willing to ignore all standards to save the world. But part of him wondered about this Scourge. What order did he mean?

******(/\/\)**

**(8:00pm Tuesday, Unknown House)**

Blood was splattered all over the walls. Two people with slit throats sat side-by-side on a couch. The other couch had merely one man on it, dead as the others. The only light was a TV showing the local news. A young boy lay on the ground, bound and gagged and frightened out of his little life. And standing in the middle of it all, drawing a summoning circle with one foot was the man responsible.

"Fill, fill, fill 'er up, fill." The man, Ryuunosuke Uryuu said as he read from a tattered old book. "Repeat four times. Or was it five times? Um, and then I have to destroy it each time it's filled. Wait is that right?" He looked at the book again. "Hmm. Alright now. Fill and fill and fill and fill and fill. Ok that's five times. Right." He was suddenly distracted when the news spoke of a kidnapper. The news-lady went on to say that at the last three houses there had been the same pentagram drawn in blood, just like the one Uryuu was doing now.

"Do you think that maybe I went a little bit too far?" He asked the single corpse as he leaned on the couch, causing the man's head to fall to the ground. Uryuu turned off the TV before turning to face the boy. "Hey, do you believe in terrible demons kiddo? All the newspapers and magazines are saying I'm some kind of terrible demon." He started walking towards the boy. "But suppose demons like that really did exist in the world. I mean wouldn't that be awfully rude to them? You got to be pretty clear on these things." He suddenly crouched down, scaring the kid. "Yo. I'm Ryuunosuke Uryuu and I'm a demon. Ah, I don't know if that's the right way to go about it. But look." He waved the book at the kid. "I found this little baby. It's some big old book from deep inside our storehouse. Looks like some of my ancestors were doing a bunch of research on how to go about summoning demons. So like, I just gotta find out whether there really are demons. Understand?" He stood back up. "But you know, if a demon really did appear, it would be pretty stupid to just chat with it for a while and send it back from whatever pit of Hell it came from." He sat down in a chair. "So kid. If a demon does show up around here, would you mind letting it kill ya?" The child, already scared out of his wits, started shrieking and wriggling in terror. Uryuu started laughing. "I wonder what it's like being killed by a demon? How many people get to find out?" He grimaced in pain. "What a minute. What's that?" 'That' was a glowing symbol on his right hand. Though Uryuu didn't know it, that was a command seal that signified his contract with a servant. The circle started glowing as the ritual was completed. Mist billowed out as the last servant was summoned.

The servant was young, about 17 maybe. He wore a purplish-blue tunic and leggings with a red and yellow chest piece. His hands and feet were covered in leather and a yellow scarf billowed out behind him. On his back was a large golden sword shaped like a diamond and attached to a red handle and cross guard. He opened his blue eyes and brushed aside his spiky blond hair. "As Caster, I ask of you, he who calls me…" He looked in horror as he noticed the state of the room. "Wha…what happened here?"

"Oh yeah." Uryuu said rubbing his head in embarrassment. "Sorry this place is a mess, but I figured you'd want to see my hobby."

Caster looked back at him. "You did this?" Anger was evident on his voice and face. "You murdered these people.

"Oh, don't worry. I left one for you. He's right over here." Uryuu turned to face the boy he left alive. "So, do you want to eat him? Or are you just going to show me some cool…" He gasped in pain as Caster's blade slid into his chest from behind.

"Rot in Hell you monster." Caster growled as he pulled his blade out. Uryuu fell down, already dead. Sheathing his sword, Caster looked at the dead in sadness before offering a prayer to the Wise One. He turned to the boy, who started wriggling away. "Hey. It's ok." He said in a soft tone. "I'm not gonna hurt you. It'll be alright. Just calm down." White circles rose quickly from his feet to his head as a glowing white ball flew slowly to the boy. When it hit, he started feeling really sleepy. Just before he fell asleep, he heard a thunk as Caster bought his blade down on something.

******(/\/\)**

**(6:00pm Wednesday, Fuyuki Hospital)**

The boy woke up, screaming his head off. It took him a while to realise that he wasn't in his home, and that a policeman was trying to calm him down. "It's alright son. Take a deep breath. You're one lucky kid."

"Lucky?" the boy asked

The policeman nodded. "Someone dropped you off at the station. Didn't see who it was, but he left the address of the killer's latest attack. We're absolutely certain that the man Ryuunosuke Uryuu was the killer. Strangely though, the boys say he was killed by a large sword, and he was definitely missing his right hand."

The boy pondered this. It must've been that stranger from the circle that took the hand. Maybe it had something to do with that symbol on it. But what did it mean?

******(/\/\)**

**(9:00pm Tuesday, Unknown House)**

Unknown to anyone though, in the time between Caster's departure and the police arriving, the summoning circle became active once again. As it billowed out mist again, another servant stepped out.

Covered by a purple glow, the stranger looked around at the corpses. The glow faded, leaving behind a strange woman clad head to toe in concealing clothes. One could not tell who this individual was.

And that was how The Fateless One like it.

And so Avenger left the house, wondering what fates she will change and unravel in this strange world.

******(/\/\)**

**(Same time, Fuyuki Church)**

"The final servant, Caster has just been summoned. For some reason though, not even a minute later the master was killed." Risei Kotomine said to his son Kirei.

"Odd. Perhaps another master was behind it." Kirei replied.

"No." Assassin retorted. "Kill was far too soon. /The odds are too miniscule. /Caster did the deed."

Kirei raised his eyebrow in surprise. "But he would have no mana to keep him here. Why would he do that?"

"They did not agree. /Difference of opinion. /Will find new master."

"Assassin's right Kirei. There's nothing stopping Caster from finding someone else to be his or her master. Still, we should inform Tokiomi about this development."

"Understood." Kirei moved to inform Tokiomi over the communicator when Risei called him back. "What is it?"

"Another servant was just summoned from the same circle."

Kirei frowned. "But there are only seven servants. How can there be eight?"

Risei sighed. "I don't know, but the last time there were eight servants the whole system went crazy. You should inform Tokiomi about this too."

Kirei nodded, heading off again. But this was still strange news.

_"Still."_ He thought. _"At least we can finally begin the War. And our plan."_

******(/\/\)**

**(9:00pm Thursday, Outside Tohsaka Mansion)**

Kirei looked at the Tohsaka Mansion from the forest overlooking it. Though his eyes couldn't see it he knew that Tokiomi had several defences in place that made it magically impenetrable. But this was Assassin's specialty.

"Assassin. You know what to do. Make sure not to fail." He said to his servant.

"Understood Master. /Like an old leaf on the wind /I will move unseen." With this, Assassin moved out, with DIE glowing on his helmet. It did not take long for Assassin to reach the outer walls of the mansion. Jumping over the walls, he threw kunai at some gems on pedestals. His eyes saw the weaker barriers fall with their destruction. Only a large, powerful one remained. Moving quickly, he actually ran through the barrier without setting it off before pulling out a hilt from his back. A blue glowing blade formed from it and he raised it to strike the last jewel. Then there would be nothing in his way.

An apple-sized ball flew at the pedestal. Before Assassin could even move, it exploded with enough force to burn and destroy the modest garden. Assassin had been completely vaporised. Standing on the Tohsaka roof was Archer, a strange black and red glove on one hand with another ball in its palm.

"Sorry Assassin, but that's the way the ball bounces." Archer snarked as a sleek red and silver pistol materialised in his hand. Rainbow shots were fired at familiars that had been watching the fight. Any left were already running to report to their masters. With the grounds empty, Archer moved to head back inside.

******(/\/\)**

**(9:30pm Thursday, Mackenzie Residence)**

"Yes!" Waver shouted, having watched Assassin's failed attempt. He grabbed the radio that Rider had given him to tell him the good news. "Rider, Assassin's been killed. He out of the running."

"Understood." Rider replied. "Preparing for evac." This was his way to say he was bringing Waver to his Noble Phantasm. A metal door appeared in Waver's room before opening. Remembering that Rider had entered this door, Waver took a deep breath and walked through.

It turned out that Waver's understanding of a base and Rider's understanding were very different. Rider listed at least a dozen ways an enemy could breach the house and suggested using his Noble Phantasm **Forward unto Dawn** as a better option. But for Waver's spells and familiars to work, he had to be outside a reality marble. In the end, Rider's familiar, Cortana, had suggested that Waver have a radio to contact them if anything came up.

Stepping through the other door, Waver was amazed. It looked like some kind of spaceship. Out one side the stars were glowing brighter than down on Earth. But the other side was completely black, as though something was blocking it.

"Hello Master." Cortana said from thin air. Waver got used to that after a while. "The white lights on the floor will lead you to the Command Center of the Dawn." Nodding, Waver soon reached the Center. It was a large room with a strange table in the center. Images were moving all over it and Rider was looking at them, deep in thought. Strangely, he never seemed to remove his armour, leading Waver to decide that he actually needs it to survive.

"Describe the events leading to Assassin's death." Rider said, not even looking up from what Waver saw was an aerial photo of the Tohsaka Mansion. The damage was very clear in the image.

"Well, my familiar didn't see as much as I'd like, but I did see him come from the forest." Rider tapped the forest, surrounding it in a box with a one by it. "Then he threw something to disable the first wards around the flowerbeds." Rider placed a box around them. "He walked through the final barrier somehow." A box at the bombsite. "But then Archer appeared on the roof and threw an explosive at Assassin."

"Where on the roof was Archer?" Rider asked.

"About here I think." Waver said as he pointed at the middle of the roof facing the forest. Rider drew a circle around there before tapping the table, causing the image to become 3D.

"Cortana, any ideas?" Rider said out loud. Suddenly, a small, blue, **naked** lady appeared next to the model. Waver shrieked, causing Cortana and Rider to look at him.

"Rider! Tell your faerie to put some clothes on for God's sake." He yelled.

"I'm not a faerie. I am a UNSC smart artificial intelligence construct. And I am just a series of one and zero constructed to look like a woman."

"Well look like you have some clothes on already."

Cortana sighed before her appearance became hazy and reappeared wearing an Admiral uniform. "Happy?" Waver nodded. "Good cause we need to go over what happened here. Something's not right."

"Agreed." Rider said. "To have the designation Assassin, he would have to have been good enough to remember Archer would be guarding Tohsaka with his life. Those barriers would be useless if someone can walk through them so he must have an intangibility unit or magic."

"Most likely a unit. His appearance seems more in line with our time than the past. The fact that Archer got him might suggest that it has a cooldown period. But even with it a powerful magus like Tohsaka **must** have defences other than the barrier." She turned to face Waver. "He would know about Assassin, right?"

"Yeah. The Tohsakas were one of the families that made the Grail."

"He would've been stupid to not have defences designed to stop an Assassin class. Maybe…" A chart with a list of servants and masters appeared next to her. Most of the master spots were empty. "Do we know who Assassin worked with?"

"I'm pretty sure it was Kirei Kotomine. He was an apprentice of Tohsaka after spending years with the Church. Every magus hears about something like that. Then he left about a year ago."

"Long enough that he could've received a command seal." Rider said. "So Kirei leaves the Church to join their sworn enemy, and then leaves a year before the Grail War begins. He's the Master of Assassin, while his mentor is the Master of Archer. Assassin does a suicidal attack on Tohsaka, forgets about Archer and get surprised by a grenade. And he has an intangibility unit that either has low energy, or he seems to forget about." Rider stared at the model for a bit before speaking again. "What if he had a hologram?"

"That makes sense." Cortana said "He could hide in the shadows and send a hologram forward instead. That could explain why he passed through the barrier so easily." She frowned in thought. "But what point is there? The hologram couldn't destroy the gemstone, and it would've been too unlikely to know Archer would use a grenade. He could've used a sniper rifle, or a machine gun, or even a pistol. Not to mention he didn't strike while Archer was distracted."

"He did use a pistol afterwards to clear out the familiars." Waver remembered.

"Why do that," Rider said. "Unless you don't want the enemy to look too closely. We'll need to stay on our toes until otherwise and work under the assumption that Assassin and Archer may be working together." He turned to face Waver. "During the night, unless you need to work on some magic, I highly recommend staying aboard the Dawn and only leaving during the day. At least until Assassin is confirmed dead."

Waver nodded as he looked out the window at the stars. There were worse places to spend his nights.

He just hoped he could keep track of the time.

**So that's Saber for you. Yes, he's supposed to be omnicidal, and he kinda is, but he's also willing to be pragmatic. Win the Grail, **_**then**_** conquer the world. And Rider sees Waver as his commanding officer. He's not the kind of soldier to blindly follow orders. So he and Cortana are going to make him a better person, just like Alexander did in the anime.**

**Just letting everyone know, I'm posting these once a week. This gives everyone time to find and review, so anything that might need changing I can fix. Also, these pages might be a bit short. This is my first story so I'm still working out some kinks. Besides when you're first starting off, an 8 page word document seems pretty long.**

**See you next time, where I might start including their stats.**


	3. And So We Shall Go to War

**Now things are heating up. We might see a real fight by the end of this chapter. And as per Canon, everyone meets everyone else. Well, almost everyone.**

**Once more, I don't own anything. The characters and franchises belong to their respective owners. I'm not making any money from this.**

Chapter 3: And So, We Shall Go To War

**(xXx)**

**(10:00pm Thursday, Fuyuki Church)**

"My servant has been lost." Kirei said to the church overseer. "I have forfeited my right as Master and cannot continue in the Holy Grail War. In accordance to the treaty, I, Kirei Kotomine, ask that the church shelters and protect me."

The overseer, Risei, nodded. "Your request is granted. In my role as judge, I, Risei Kotomine, will guarantee your safety. Enter." They both turned and entered the doors of the local church they were staying in during the war.

"Father, is the church being watched?" Kirei asked, remembering the amount of familiars watching the Tohsaka Mansion.

"No, my son. The church has been declared neutral ground. Any masters who have their familiars get close enough will be penalised for their behaviour."

"No one is watching. /Familiars are long gone. /I have seen to that." Assassin said as he materialised at a bench, alive and unharmed.

Kirei and Tokiomi were surprised when they learned of his main Noble Phantasm. Creating a strange illusion that could be directed would definitely be a useful skill for an Assassin. They had Archer use an explosive weapon to attack, making it seem that Assassin had been completely destroyed when his illusion vanished. As far as the other teams were concerned, Assassin was no more, allowing them to spy on them with impunity.

All they needed to do was wait for the first battle.

******(xXx)**

**(12:00pm Friday, Fuyuki Airport)**

As the plane finally landed Iri was fit to bursting with excitement. Finally she was leaving the castle and seeing Kiri's homeland! When she exited the private jet she actually gave a twirl on the runway. Her winter clothes were starting to get hot, but she needed them whenever she was with Saber.

And speak of the Devil; he too was just exiting, keeping a close eye on Iri. Frost formed when he touched the railing and steps, only to melt in the sun's light. Though he would never admit it, he enjoyed seeing Irisviel looking so happy. It reminded him so much of Jaina's smiles when they had been together.

Shaking his head out of the past, Saber and Irisviel headed through the airport, grabbing their bags and passing through customs. As they did so, Iri decided to engage Saber in conversation.

"Given your armour, I imagine that was your first time flying too, right Saber." She said

Saber shook his head. "The goblins in my world have always made airships, though they were merely zeppelins and not as fast as that. Furthermore, I actually had a resurrected dragon as a mount, and saw much of the lands with ease on her back."

"Oh. It must've been exciting flying around on a dragon." Iri replied as Saber grabbed her bags.

"…It was." Saber said after a while. They walked in silence until they reached their vehicle. Fortunately for them, Saber had enough Riding Skill to drive the car like he's been doing it all his life. Iri asked if they could head into town to see the sights. Saber complied, knowing that it would be a good way to learn the layout of his latest battlegrounds.

They were actually quite a pair, her prancing around in a winter coat and him glowering in a suit. Saber had a gut feeling that they were being watched by something, but he did not react. All servants knew that the War was to remain secret. Whoever was watching couldn't take action until night had fallen. Still, let loose a pulse of necromancy that killed the insects in the immediate area, and the feeling faded.

They ended their tour on a beach, the moon high above them and reflecting off the sea. While other would say it was beautiful, Saber merely saw it as a body of water. Irisviel was standing in the water, her boots and socks abandoned nearby. She looked up at the moon and smiled.

"The sea looks so beautiful." She said. "If only we could've come here during the day."

"I'll put it on my list of things to do, right after 'survive the night' and 'crack a few skulls'." Saber snarked. They were about to leave, when Saber sensed a pulse of mana from the docks.

An invitation for a battle.

Saber looked at Irisviel, who merely nodded. She too felt the pulse. Putting her boots back on, Saber headed back to the car and plotted the fastest way to their opponent.

He was not missing out on the first fight.

******(xXx)**

**(8:00pm Friday, Fuyuki Docks)**

"Finally. Thought no one was gonna show." Lancer said as she watched Saber and Irisviel. She didn't look all that tough, even with her large lance resting on her shoulder. But Saber knew he couldn't underestimate her. You don't become a Heroic Spirit without being very dangerous.

"So. Which servant are you Pretty Boy?"

Pretty Boy? That was her insult? Saber had heard much better. He formed his armour over his suit, feeling more at ease with the heavy plate covering everything. He stabbed Frostmourne into the ground so that Lancer could see its form and power.

"So you're a Saber then? Probably from a place where ya can't go to the bathroom without fighting of a few monsters." She smiled some more. "I think we're gonna get along just fine."

"Enough talk Lancer." Saber said as he pulled his blade from the ground. "Prepare for battle."

They both just stood there, staring and with weapons at the ready, waiting for the other to act. Iri felt intimidated by the raw power coming from those two. She took a step back and her foot went crunch on some gravel. At that sound the two combatants charged at each other, the weapons clashing with immense force. Again and again their blades clashed against each other, neither yet harming the other. Then, Lancer jumped away to gain some room.

"**Paradigm Shift: Saboteur"** She shouted, a grey circle glowing at her feet for a moment. Placing her hand against her white tattoo, she threw small orbs of magic at Saber. The orbs struck him despite his dodging, but they had no effect on him. Cursing, Lancer blocked a strike before jumping away again. **"Paradigm Shift: Ravager"** A blue circle appeared at her feet. She charged in and struck with her lance, though it was enveloped by fire, ice, wind and lightning. Though Saber's armour blocked all but the worst, he could tell these strikes were causing some staggering.

"**Drudge Ghouls"** He chanted, causing three shambling undead to rise around Lancer. While he knew they wouldn't be a threat, it would give him some time to think. As he charged his next spell, Lancer knocked the ghouls down with a swing of her lance. She placed her hand against the tattoo again as she too charged a spell.

"**Windga!" **she yelled as she threw the spell. A massive tornado rose from it, pulling in the ghouls and tearing them apart. Only by moving away did Saber avoid being caught. But his spell was ready.

"**Infest!"** He yelled.

"**Paradigm Shift: Sentinel"** She said at the exact same time, a yellow circle appearing. She guarded as Saber's spell slammed into her. Shadows rose up and lashed at her for several seconds before dissipating. She was wounded, not as much as he hoped but wounded nonetheless. **"Paradigm Shift: Medic"** she said as a green circle appeared.

Cursing, Saber rushed in, hoping to stop her from healing herself. Jumping away from Saber's strikes, Lancer managed to use some spells on herself.

"**Paradigm Shift: Ravager"** she said again, moving back in with her infused strikes. After trading a few blows with her, Saber was knocked about by an even stronger blow that left him reeling. **"Paradigm Shift: Synergist"** a purple circle now appeared and she casted a couple of powerful spells on herself that left her glowing. **"Paradigm Shift: Commando"** A red circle appeared as she moved in for the kill.

Saber barely got his blade up in time to block her strikes, but his body was still getting pounded by the force. Those last spells must've empowered her, since she was faster and stronger than before. She shouted out **"Highwind"** before jumping into the air and slamming lance-first into Saber, leaving him in a crater.

Lancer chuckled as Saber got out of the crater, his temper being frayed. "It seems that I still underestimated you, Lancer."

"You're pretty tough yourself, Saber. Few can withstand that kind of blow."

"I'm touched." He said dryly.

"Lancer." A new voice echoed through the docks. "Stop talking to Saber and kill him already."

"Alright, alright. Don't get your knickers in a twist." Lancer said as the voice snarled. Saber had climbed out and held his sword in front of him. They charged again, but Saber was ready this time.

"**Frostmourne Hungers"** He said as they clashed. His sword let out a burst of energy, causing Lancer's lance to freeze over and drawing energy from her. As she grew weaker, she jumped back, letting Frostmourne strike the ground and forming a small sheet of ice where she stood. As she shook the ice of her lance, she saw that Saber was standing more upright than before.

She raised her lance as they stared down one another. "Well now. Things just got interesting." And they charged one another.

Kiritsugu looked at the battle through his scope. It was amazing, gazing at the power these servants wield. Looking at all the damage they wrought with the shockwaves of the strikes. It was like watching gods, or forces of nature.

It needed to be ended quickly.

"Maiya, I have located Lancer's master. Can you see him from your location?"

"Negative." Maiya Hisau said over the headset. Emiya found her on a battlefield when they were both younger. The men around her used her like trash, before he rescued her. She swore to devote her life Emiya and his causes. They both knew she would give her life for his goals if he asked her to.

"Right. Lining up the shot." He said. He'd finish this fight here and now, with a single bullet to the head.

"Wait." Maiya interrupted. "Have spotted Assassin on the crane."

Emiya swivelled round, his scope pointed at the top of the crane. Sure enough, there was Assassin in all his glory. "How did he survive?"

"Unknown. Shall we continue?"

"No Maiya." As soon as he took the strike, Assassin would kill him. Looking at his hands, he noticed Assassin was also carrying a sniper rifle. "We'll just have to wait and see what happens."

******(xXx)**

**(Same time, Forward unto Dawn)**

Meanwhile, high above, Waver and Rider were watching the fight through a satellite Cortana had 'borrowed'. Waver was amazed by the sheer power of the two servants. It was even more amazing than the fact they were actually **behind** the moon. Rider, however, was more interested in logistics.

"Cortana. Strategies?" He asked the A.I.

"Well, I can tell from just looking that you'll be best focused attacking from range and on the move." She replied, stepping over the image. "They both appear to be from times or worlds of magic. And Saber seems to be an almost perfect combination of tin warrior and spellcaster."

"Are we going in now?" Waver asked as he watched the two servants slice apart a container of flour.

Rider thought about it. On one hand the two servants were heavily armoured and very skilled. Even with moving and fighting at range he might not win. He remembered how easily The Diadact beat him with psudomagic. On the other hand more servants might appear if they waited, and if he could kill one of these two it would make this easier in the long run.

"Wait. What's that?" Waver asked, pointing at something on top of the crane. Zooming in, the three noticed that it was Assassin.

"I knew his 'death' was suspicious, Cortana said smirking at being right. Rider mentally groaned. None of them knew whether the Dawn would stay here if Rider left it, and until they did he couldn't leave Waver alone on board.

"Sir. Get ready." Rider said as he headed for the armoury. "Grab a pistol and head to the Machine Bay. We're moving out."

******(xXx)**

**(Fuyuki Docks)**

As the flour dissipated, Saber and Lancer looked at one another again. Both had managed to land many blows against one another, but both had a way to heal the damage either inflicted. It seemed to merely be a battle of endurance and both tried to land finishing blows.

"You are highly skilled Lancer." Saber said as he acknowledged her skill. "You would've made a fine warrior in my army."

"You too." She said. "I wouldn't mind fighting alongside you any day."

They were about to charge again when the ground started quaking. Large parts of the docks actually rose and fell like pistons. Everyone fought to keep their balance.

"Please stop fighting!" A young voice called through the night. Looking over at it, they noticed a young boy in strange armour standing before them. He was clearly a servant, even without the large golden blade on his back.

Of course, the strange glowing creatures gave it away too.

"I am Caster." He said. "And I wish for us to settle our differences with words, not weapons. They should always be a **last** resort."

He was about to continue when the roar of a car echoed through the air. Suddenly, an olive jeep with a turret crashed through some containers. Driving the jeep was a tall, armoured man. Next to him was a small boy wearing ill-fitting armour, cowering as the jeep flew. And in the back holding the turret was another soldier in better-fitting armour, turning the turret to aim at the servants.

Everyone jumped into action as hundreds of bullets flew through the air. Saber grabbed Irisviel and guarded her with his plated body as they ran for cover. Lancer jumped high, moving from crate to crate. Caster cast some kind of barrier that the bullets bounced off. As the jeep landed, it moved back to try again. But the gunner exploded as a bang echoed. The jeep swerved so that the passenger side was covered by the wall of crates.

"Sorry about your gunner." Another young voice apologised. Everyone looked from behind cover to see another servant on a shipping crate. Covered in black-and-red armour, this was clearly not human. In his hand was a crossbow/gun hybrid.

"Archer." Rider said as he stared at the servant.

"Yep" He said as he shrugged. "Sorry Caster, but while I agree with you, this is a war. And in war, people fight and die. This isn't something to be won with words."

"Is it over?" Rider's passenger said as he got back up. "Is it safe?"

"So you were the one who did it." Lancer's master said. "I've been wondering what twisted madness had invaded your psyche and compelled you to steal my relic."

Waver gulped, shaking. "Lord El-Melloi." He squeaked.

"I never even imagined that you yourself have been planning to enter the Holy Grail War. Waver Velvet."

Waver gulped in fear.

"Now I know you're not experienced in these matters." He continued. "How would you like me to offer you a private lesson? What it really means for mages to kill one another. I'll teach you all about the fear and pain involved in such noble endeavours. You should feel honoured."

Rider's response was to pull out his rifle and start shooting at Lancer's Master. Instantly, Lancer was in front of him, a yellow circle at her feet and her arms crossed, blocking every bullet.

"There's my answer." Rider simply said.

El-Melloi looked ready to retort, when squawking was heard. A murder of crows fluttered through the air, before landing in the shape of a standing person. Black-and-red tendrils travelled up the person as a man took their place. He looked less dangerous than Lancer, decked in only jeans and a hoodie, but everyone could sense an aura of power coming from him. The man looked up at Archer with glowing red eyes.

"So. You're Archer then." He said in a gravelly voice, like he had smoked a lot. He smirked. "Name's Berserker. Just wanted you to know that this is nothing personal, but my master despises your master." And with that tendrils swirled again and the man was covered in armour.

It looked completely organic, like the shell of a beetle. Spikes jutted out at the ankles and elbows, and his face was covered by a pockmarked black mask. One hand had spikes instead of fingers and the over was bulked out in muscles. Without warning, the spiked hand fired at Archer, trailing a cord back to his arm, and only Archer's quick movement saved him. His crossbow vanished, replaced by a large blue underslung rifle. Bullets fire in dozens at Berserker. Berserker dashed quickly, but not enough to dodge all the bullets. He grunted as the bullets hit and released an acidic liquid, which ate away at his armour like paper. The damage healed over, and Berserker grabbed a crate with the other hand, throwing it at Archer like a toy. Archer pulled out a large gun with two tall barrels side by side. It fired with a loud boom, and the crate was sheared in half. As fragments of DVDs landed around him, Berserker prepared to fire again. But Caster intervened.

"**Ragnarok"** he shouted, and a massive fiery sword pinned Berserker to the ground. He screamed as it burned him, before his top half split in two and he jumped away from the blade. Reforming, he turned to face Caster.

"You want to kill him, you'll have to go through me and my friends." Caster said as the glowing creatures surrounded him. Berserker weighed his options before his hands shifted back to normal.

"You won't be so lucky next time, furball." He growled as he jumped away, easily clearing several stories. Massive wings grew from his back, and he flapped away. Once they were certain he wasn't coming back, Caster sighed with relief.

"Thanks for that kid." Archer said as he put away his gun. "But remember. Next time we meet we'll most likely be enemies." A roar sounded as Rider pulled away. Everyone watched him as he drove off, a massive glowing platform appearing from a hole in the sky. It pulled up on pistons and faded. Taking his cue, Archer's jetpack extended its wings and he jumped and flew away.

"Looks like we'll have to finish this another time Saber." Lancer said as she picked up her master and jumped away.

"I will enjoy taking your soul Lancer." Saber said in return as he dissipated his armour. He and Irisviel headed back to the car, amazingly still untouched given everything that had happened. Emiya looked back at the crane, and noticed that Assassin had vanished at some point during the fight.

And unnoticed by anyone, another had been watching. Decked in black-and-gold robes with a hooded mask, Avenger had watched the whole thing. By sheer luck and a teleport dash she had only received a bruise on her head when the quake started. She rubbed her head as she thought. The servants were much stronger than she imagined. She doubted she could win against such powerful numbers.

She needed an ally.

**Well, there's my first action scene. I hope it's alright. I might've skipped a few parts, but that because I'm worried I might bore people with overly long fights of shouting out attack names.**

**And as promised, here is a Servant Stat Sheet. I chose to use Lancer because we mainly saw her powers during this fight. I've based them mainly on her progression during her game. This is also my first time writing Servant Stats, so they might seem out of balance. If they are, I'm keeping them for this fan fic, but I might change for later fics.**

Lancer

Name: Fang

Series: Final Fantasy XIII

Master: Kayneth El-Melloi

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Strength: A++

Endurance: A

Agility: B++

Magical Power: B

Good Luck: C

Noble Phantasm: A

Class Skills:

Mad Enhancement (B)

Mad Enhancement raises basic parameters in exchange of hindering mental capacities. In some cases, also seals away Personal Skills. At B rank, it ranks up all parameters, but takes away most sanity. Activated when using _Come O Day of Wrath_

_Fang was driven mad with rage whenever she became Ragnarok._

Riding Skill (A+)

Creatures on the level of Phantasmal Beast and Divine Beast can be used as mounts. At such a high level, it applies to members of the Dragon Kind.

_Fang learned to ride all kinds of creatures, but excels when on Bahamut._

Personal Skills:

Guardian Knight (B)

Guardian Knight temporarily raises defensive power when protecting others.

_Fang did nearly everything to protect her friends._

High-Speed Divine Words (A)

High-Speed Divine Words is the power to activate Thaumaturgy without the use of Magic Circuits. The language of the Age of Gods, back when words played a heavy role in spellcasting. As such, it is power long lost by modern magi. At this level High-Thaumaturgy-level Magecraft can be cast at the speed of Single-Action spells.

High-Speed Incantation (A)

High-Speed Incantation is the capacity to recite spells at high speeds.

_Fang can cast powerful spells without a word._

Instinct (B)

Instinct is the power to "feel" the most favourable developments for oneself during battle.

_On Gran Pulse, one needed to develop instincts to survive._

Knowledge of Respect and Harmony (B)

Knowledge of Respect and Harmony prevents any decrease in the effectiveness of a technique, regardless of how many times it is used against the same opponent. At that level attacks cannot be perceived by the enemy.

_Fang's fighting style and paradigm shifts mean that attacks are still effective no matter how long._

Monstrous Strength (B)

Monstrous Strength is an ability possessed by monsters and beasts, temporary boost of the Strength parameter by one rank for a time limit determined by the ranking of this skill. Only applicable when using _Come O Day of Wrath._

_Fang becomes stronger when she is Ragnarok._

Nature of a Rebellious Spirit (A)

Nature of a Rebellious Spirit is the temperament to never remain at one location and never embrace a lord. A wandering star that does not have the capacity to be king nor is capable of finding his own king. Negates the effects of Charisma with the same rank.

_Fang was not very good at obeying her leaders and had only disdain for the Fal'Cie._

Pioneer of the Stars (EX)

Pioneer of the Stars is the unique Skill given to heroes that became turning points in the human history. All difficult voyages and challenges which are considered "impossible" turn into "events that can be realized".

_Fang and her friends changed the way of life on Cocoon by killing Orphan._

Noble Phantasms:

Paradigm Shift (Anti-Unit)

Lancer changes her paradigm, allowing her to specialise in a particular fighting style. Styles include Commando the melee fighter; Ravager the mage; Sentinel the shield; Synergist the buffer; Saboteur the curser; and Medic the healer.

Come Forth, Master of the Rift (Anti-Group)

Lancer summons Bahamut to her side, where he unleashes immense power. Can change between his dragon form and human form.

Come O Day of Wrath (Anti-Army)

Lancer becomes Ragnarok at the cost of sanity. Like the Berserker class, but at higher levels.

**So there you have it. Is she too overpowered to you? Anyone with experience writing Servant stats let me know.**

**See you lot next week.**


	4. He Who Seeks Knowledge, Seeks Victory

**For anyone expecting more action, I'm sorry to disappoint you.**

**Same old. Don't own. Not making money. Rights belong to their respective owners.**

Chapter 4: He Who Seeks Knowledge, Seeks Victory

**(11:00pm Friday, Einzbern Fuyuki Castle)**

Kiritsugu looked out the window and sighed in relief as Iri pulled up to the castle. Pleased that she had made it back safely, he moved downstairs to greet her. As they hugged, he noticed Saber looked angrier than before, and slightly nauseous.

"What happened?" He asked Saber, who looked away for a moment as he wondered how to answer.

******(x/X\x)**

**(2 hours ago, Fuyuki Highway)**

_Arthas' riding skill told him so much about the car they were in. They told him how it can go 7.5 miles to the gallon. They told him how it has central locking system and side airbags. Mostly, they told him how the car has a maximum safety speed of 150 miles per hour. On his world, this was impossibly fast._

_And Irisviel was going __**past**__ this limit._

"_This is so much fun Saber." She laughed as they drifted around another corner and barely missed scraping the railing. "Kiri never mentioned how much better it was going fast."_

_Why did I let her drive, Saber thought as he gripped the seat as hard as he could. He wished he wasn't the Lich King so that he could at least pray to Him. Praying to yourself is both weird and useless._

"_By the Light, I ask of you. Though I have not been faithful to your creed, if you wish me to seek redemption then allow me to survive this horror of steel and force I am trapped in." He prayed to the Light as another barrier went past close enough to touch._

"_Look Saber." Irisviel said as she pointed ahead. Saber looked up, and if he was alive his blood would've run cold. A gap in the barrier leading to open air, and on the other side was the rest of the road they were on._

_There's no way she's __**this**__ insane! He thought to himself. But apparently she had a death wish, because she did not deviate from the gap. The car revved higher as the wheels had nothing to grip, and the trees shook far below the airborne vehicle. For several moments, it seemed that the car wasn't going to make it before finally bouncing on solid road again._

_Saber was not afraid to admit he might've squealed a bit._

******(x/X\x)**

**(Present Time, Einzbern Fuyuki Castle)**

"From now on, I'll be the only driver on this team." Saber finally said as he headed inside. Iri sighed, her dreams of more driving fun crushed.

"I don't think Saber liked my driving." She said as they followed him. Emiya glanced at her for a moment.

"You jumped that gap on the highway, didn't you?" Iri could only giggle. Sighing, and pleased **he** hadn't been in that car, Emiya headed to the dining room they had chosen to meet in. Saber was lying on a couch, resting from his traumatic ride. Maiya was finishing setting out their information while Iri sat down next to Saber. Emiya stood at the head of the table, hands resting on the surface.

"Time to discuss the first match." He said.

******(x/X\x)**

**(Same time, Forward Unto Dawn)**

Unknown to Team Emiya, Team Velvet was doing the exact same thing. They stood around the briefing table, a list of all known servants and masters, as well as their photos, taken either by Rider's helmet or hacked documents.

"Right, then. While I admit that didn't go **quite** as planned, we still managed to acquire some more intel on our opponents." Cortana said as she walked around the list. "First up is Saber. His swordsmanship is very impressive, his armour is tough enough to withstand the Warthog's armour-penetrating rounds, and his sword seems to heal him."

"He used what I would guess to be necromancy. That does fit in with his armour style." Waver said

"Given the appearance of his Master, Saber must be with the Einzbern Family." He continued. "Their homunculi are well known for their albinism."

The list linked them both together.

"Next is Lancer and her Master, El-Melloi." Rider said.

******(x/X\x)**

**(Fuyuki Castle)**

"Lancer is definitely a threat to us. Her Noble Phantasm seems to revolve around switching between different sets of abilities, what she calls Paradigm Shifts." Emiya said as they pulled up the photo he had taken of the woman.

"She seems to need to touch the white tattoo to throw spells." Saber said. "And I noticed that each shift changed her offence and defence. Her attacks were harder during Commando than Ravager. Furthermore, her attack style seems to focus on staggering her opponent in quick succession, before launching a heavy flurry of attacks."

"She needs time to cast stronger spells, and she seems to be able to cast only a few spells in a row before recharging." Iri said. "Her ability to heal herself is troubling, as is her ability to reinforce herself. I also think her first spells may have meant to weaken Saber, but were blocked by his high Magic Resistance."

Emiya nodded, glad they got so much knowledge from this fight. He tapped the picture of a tall blond man in a blue coat wand white gloves. "What do we know about her Master?"

******(x/X\x)**

**(Forward Unto Dawn)**

"He was my teacher back in at The Clock Tower." Waver answered, his face burning as he remembered his laugh. "He thinks he's so great because he comes from a ten-generation Magus family, while I'm just a third-generation. He's arrogant, rude, and doesn't respect anybody. But his magic **is** powerful. He's probably the strongest Magus in this war."

"Sounds like you two have history." Cortana said.

Waver nodded. "Power comes from the bloodline. Someone who's part of an old bloodline will always be stronger than someone like me. I wrote a thesis on how a Magus could increase their power through effort, experience and knowledge. But El-Melloi laughed at it in class and tore it up, calling me an idiot. But I showed him. I stole the catalyst that summoned you. I got to be a Master in the Grail War. And once I win, I'll use the Grail to show everyone they're wrong."

"You're going to wish to show them they're wrong?" Cortana asked. "To show you're strong enough?"

"Well, yeah. I could wish for more magic power, or something."

Rider interrupted. "Sir, with all due respect, that idea's stupid."

Waver flinched at that. "What? How dare you!"

"If you want to prove them wrong, then follow your thesis. Become better than them through knowledge and effort. No one will respect you if your power is handed to you on a silver platter. You have to prove you're worthy of their respect."

"You… you think I could do that?" Waver asked. "But I'm only a third-generation. I'm not strong enough."

Rider stood still for a moment, before reaching up to his helmet. Twisting it slightly, it hissed as he removed it. Underneath it his head had a Buzzcut and was pale, like this was the first time in ages he had removed his helmet. Strangely though, despite his height and mass, his face looked like he was only a few years older than Waver.

"I'm 21 right now, but as a child I was already a soldier. When I was six, I was chosen to be part of the UNSC's latest project, the SPARTAN project. There were 75 of us chosen, and we were put through the meat grinder to become the best. High-level classes, brutal training exercises and lethal combat training. We did that for 8 years. After all that, we were augmented with bioengineering. 30 of us died from complications while 12 others were washed out for one reason or another. I remember **intense** pain at every step, like I was being drowned in fire or acid or spikes." He grimaced as he remembered the pain. "We fought against insurrectionists, aliens, monsters and worse. The 33 of us that survived were slowly dwindling with every mission. Yet I never gave up. I kept pushing forward, no matter what the odds were, no matter how bad things got, no matter that some of my superiors despised me for what I was. It took an advanced spaceship belonging to god-like beings exploding to finally put me down for good. I earned nearly every medal the UNSC had for my actions. And I would've tried even if I was just a regular soldier." He placed a hand on Waver's shoulder. "Never stop trying. If someone say you can't do something, then keep at it until you succeed. And I will do everything I can to ensure you survive to prove them wrong."

Waver smiled. Rider had a point. He was only a few years older than him, but he had been fighting all these threats and going through hell when he was even younger. He survived nearly everything that got thrown at him through training and determination. If he could keep going through that, the so could Waver.

"Alright Rider." He said smiling as the servant put his helmet back on. "Let's prove El-Melloi wrong. Let's win this thing through skill and knowledge!"

******(x/X\x)**

**(Fuyuki Castle)**

"Caster's magic is very impressive." Saber was saying. "He would probably be on par with Antonidas, one of the strongest mages of my time."

Emiya agreed with him. To create such an earthquake and then a massive sword with but one word is unbelievable. "Normally I would think of him having come from the Age of the Gods, but given that many of the spirits we've seen are unlike anything before, he could've come from a completely different world."

"Judging from his actions," Maiya said. "He seems to be naïve enough to think wars can all be stopped with words alone. We could use that to launch a surprise attack."

"I'd caution against that." Saber warned her. "I had a mentor like that once. He would always try to negotiate with an enemy, but when they attacked he would kill every last one he saw. I have no doubt that Caster would attempt to annihilate us all if he had to."

"What were those little creatures floating around him?" Iri asked. "They looked adorable."

Emiya looked at the photo of Caster he took. Though there were many of them, and the glow made it harder to see, he could identify there were only four different types of creatures. One was always rounded like a rock, brown, and with blue eyes and spiky tails. Another was red and yellow, with spikes jutting and making it look like flames. The third was an ocean blue, always looking like it was some sort of sea creature. Finally the forth was purple and white, with parts shaped like wings on it.

Saber tapped the picture. "If his magic is similar to human magic in my world, then these four types must represent the four elements of Earth, Fire, Water and Air. Given the immense mana flowing through them, they must be able to improve his spells. I would recommend targeting these creatures to try and weaken him."

"What about finding his master?" Emiya asked. He could appreciate Saber's tactical mind.

Saber shook his head. "These creatures have enough mana to sustain him without a master, so we'll have to go for him anyway. Perhaps we could form a partnership with other servants until his demise."

"An idea to consider. Now on to Archer."

******(x/X\x)**

**(Forward Unto Dawn)**

"We already know he belong to Tohsaka." Cortana was saying. Next to her was a model of Archer. They noted how Archer appeared to be some kind of cat-like being.

"He's a skilled marksman, to have landed a blow on Private Phillips." Rider said, remembering when Phillips had exploded from the shot. "His weapons seem to utilise a combination of plasma and metal bullets."

"I had a suspicion about his weapons from your description, Waver." Cortana said. "But this fight confirmed that his weapons use some form of matter generation to appear in his hands. That puts his technology even higher than the Covenant."

"How many weapons do you think he has?" Waver asked.

"Unknown. Soldiers of our world carry two weapons, three in a pinch. But with matter generation, Archer could be carrying dozens of weapons or even hundreds."

Waver gulped. If Archer could carry hundreds of weapons, the Tohsaka had obviously gotten a powerful servant. "Do you have any way of carrying more weapons?"

Rider nodded. "I can call a drop-pod from the Dawn, loaded with the weapons I need. However, I can only carry two weapons to maximise my skills, and anyone who knows how to work them can grab them too. With his agility and jetpack, anything hard-hitting enough it a sitting duck, and anything fast enough isn't strong enough.

Waver sighed. Just when he thought he had a powerful servant, the others block him at every turn.

"Let's focus on another servant." He said. "What about Berserker? He seems to have a grudge against Archer."

"Actually, what he said was 'Nothing personal, but my master despises your master.'" Cortana said. She started scrolling down the list of potential masters. "Given that we have identified nearly all the masters that leaves Berserker with… The Matous." She pulled up a list of Matous in the city. She had Zouken Matou, Kariya Matou, Byakuya Matou, and Shinji Matou. They looked at the list and gauged each name on the list.

"Shinji's far too young to be a master, not when there are others to choose." Rider said as he tapped the name. It faded away as they ruled it out.

"Word in the Clock Tower is that Byakuya doesn't have a single magic circuit, so he's out." Waver said as he tapped his name.

"Zouken could be the master, except that no one's heard from him for some time. For all we know he could've died of old age." Cortana mentioned.

"Pull up relevant files of Kariya Matou." Rider said. A clock appeared on screen as Cortana hacked the Fuyuki Administrative system. Soon a picture was forming.

"Right then." Waver said. "According to these files, Kariya was a childhood friend of Aoi Zenjou, now Tohsaka's wife when Kariya left the city. A Magus wouldn't abandon their bloodline and their magic unless they had a **very** good reason for it. Aoi had two daughters, Rin and Sakura, who Kariya saw on a regular basis everytime he came back to Fuyuki. A couple of weeks before the Grail War started, Sakura Tohsaka became Sakura Matou. Kariya must've entered to get back at Tohsaka for something or other."

"No one has reported seeing Sakura since the adoption, likely because the Matous are abusive or something." Cortana added.

"The Matous are nearly magically dead according to rumours, and Sakura is recorded as being very magically gifted. That must be why the Matous adopted her. As for putting her up for adoption, as a rule the magic crest of a family can only be inherited by one child. This would be seen as the humane way for both daughters to become mages."

"So the Matou home is likely abusive, leading Kariya to abandon his home, his magic and his love to escape. He finds out that Tohsaka gave Sakura to the Matous, and hates him for putting her into that lifestyle. He becomes a Master for reasons unknown, and plans to at least take Tohsaka out of the running." Rider summed up.

"Well, this'll help us understand Berserker's master, but now we need to assess Berserker himself." Waver said as he stretched.

"He seems to be completely organic, but is definitely not human. I would compare him to the Flood in such a manner."

"Agreed. He seems to have incredible regenerative powers and can adapt on the fly. That adaptability could also include become resistant to anything that hurts him. If we were to attack him, we would need to hit with something new and not let up until he's dead."

"While it breaks the rule on not alerting the authorities, I would highly recommend hitting him with several MAC blasts until he's destroyed. He won't be able to reach us from the Moon and we if we can't kill him we could still do significant damage to him."

"Given their rivalry, we could team up with one to kill the other." Waver mentioned. Rider nodded.

"Good idea Sir. Now, let's focus on Assassin."

******(x/X\x)**

**(Fuyuki Castle)**

"We can confirm that Assassin is indeed alive. He must have a Noble Phantasm that lets him survive such attacks." Emiya started playing the footage their spy camera caught of the attack. They got to the point where Archer threw the grenade when he paused the video. "Maybe if we slow it down we just might…" He muttered to himself. Then they got it. Right before the point the grenade exploded, Assassin flickered and disappeared as the grenade exploded.

"So that's how he did it. A holographic projection to fool enemies."

"But why did he not attack that night?" Saber asked. "With Archer thinking he killed Assassin he wouldn't have been watching the grounds again. Assassin could've snuck through a window and slit Tohsaka's throat. Unless the aim wasn't to kill, but to make everyone think **he** had been killed."

"Assassin's master, Kirei Kotomine, was Tohsaka's apprentice up until two nights ago, when the war would've started. Most likely the two are working together."

"Acquiring information for Archer so that he can choose the appropriate weapon." Saber nodded again as the thought came to him. It was brilliant. It was proof that Tohsaka needed to be eliminated sooner than later. He can only do so much from range. "What about Rider?" He asked.

Emiya put out the photo he had on the strange vehicle and its rider. "His vehicle looked like something from the future, as does his armour. He appears to be able to summon a gunner to operate the turret, but we don't know whether he can summon another."

"Given the brutality of the war, it would be next to useless to have only one gunner is he was killed so easily. Most likely he can summon another and merely didn't want Archer killing him again. I could summon a mount that could keep up with him, but I would need to destroy the vehicle as quickly as I can before it destroys me."

Emiya smiled. They had a much better understanding of the other servants. Now they just needed to eliminate the biggest problems.

**There we go. Now we get to hear Rider's story. I changed canon a bit and had it that he didn't survive destroying The Diadact, so that he'd be in this story. If he seems a bit OOC, I'm sorry for that. But in 4 games all we know is that he's a soldier, and I think that he would want his commanding officer to put in his best. Furthermore, his previous experiences would give him a greater advantage over Berserker. I mean, he'd fit in with the Flood pretty well.**

**Saber could tell that the Djinn were sustaining him because he had a large knowledge on magic. Having been tutored by a hero who tried negotiations first, he has first-hand experience in the might of nice guys.**

**And that's it. See you guys next week.**


	5. Servants Out Shopping

**I've gotten quite a few people enjoying this story. Congrats to all those who figured out who the other servants are. Today is meant to be a day to relax. But when you're dealing with Servants, nothing is ever that simple.**

**Again, don't own. No profit. Belong to their owners. If you can't get that by now, then you might need help.**

Chapter 5: Servants out Shopping.

**(9:00pm Friday, Fuyuki Hyatt Hotel)**

Kayneth frowned as he looked out the window of his penthouse. This Grail War was very unusual. He thought Lancer would've been skilled enough to kill Saber, even with his Magic Resistance. But he had been stronger than they thought, leeching life from Lancer to keep fighting. After Rider's attack it was only prudent to leave when they could.

What frustrated him the most though, was that **none** of the servants were normal. Not a single one could be described as a hero of this world, seemingly coming from other worlds. Lancer herself was from a world where god-like beings called Fal'Cie ruled and provided everything for humanity. If they had some way of knowing who the servants really were, they could plan around their weaknesses and win the War. Instead, he's forced to 'wing it' every step of the way.

Lancer kept being difficult with him. Oh sure, she obeyed the spirit of his orders well enough. But she refused to treat him with respect, saying that he reminded her too much of 'Barthandelus'. He had no idea who that was, but his actions seemed to remind her too much of him. Lancer has mouthed off to him, insulted him, and even ignored him outside of battle. He was almost tempted to use a command seal to get her to treat him with the respect he deserves. But, she fights well, and his victory is more important than his ego.

He heard someone knocking on the door. Instantly, Lancer got ready for battle. Kayneth waved her over to the side, out of sight for anyone on the other side of the door. Though he had booked the entire floor he was staying on and had enchanted it to attack enemy servants, to avoid suspicion he had ensured that hotel workers would not be harmed. Still, he informed them to call him if there were any concerns as he was a 'busy' man. He looked through the eyehole, but saw nothing. Yet there was that knocking again. He looked at Lancer, and she seem to get the message. He stepped back into the bedroom with Sola as Lancer opened the door, lance in hand.

"Move a muscle and I'll stab ya." She said to thin air.

"Whoa, whoa." Caster's voice came from the doorway. "Take it easy ma'am. I just want to talk." Lancer looked at Kayneth, who merely nodded. Caster's skill would certainly be useful if he could be ordered to fight.

"Alright then." Lancer said as she backed away from the door. "But uncloak. And if you try anything funny…"

"I know." Caster merely said, the air in the room stirring as he became visible. He was smiling, and his creatures were floating around the room, gazing at everything. Kayneth heard Sola yelped, and looked to see her wrestling one of her bras from one of the creatures. "Calm down guys." Caster said to them. "You can have a look around later." The creatures settled down, mostly sitting on railings and window sills. Kayneth sat down at his chair, giving Caster an once-over. After a few seconds he spoke.

"What is your reason to be here, Caster? To form an alliance between your master and I?"

Caster shook his head. "My master was a murderer, butchering an entire family to acquire the means of summoning me. He didn't seem to know anything about the War, thinking I was a demon and offering a child for me to do something 'cool'." He frowned. "My moral decency could not allow this man to live, and so I killed him there and then."

Kayneth and Sola were shocked. Caster had killed his own master over moral differences? And how did he survive for song long without a supply of mana? Looking at the creatures with a Magi eye, Kayneth realised that they were generating mana for Caster, drawing it from the world to sustain him.

"I see." Kayneth merely said. "And I suppose you wish to have one of us as your master. If so, then what is your wish for the Grail?"

"I don't have one, though if I had to I'd wish to live in this world, seeing all that the world has to offer."

Kayneth gave this all some serious thought. If he made Sola Caster's master, then they may have to fight each other at some point. On the upside, a team of Lancer and Caster would be near unstoppable and if one was killed then the other servant could continue to win. Not to mention that if they were the last two, then Kayneth could merely ask Sola to have Caster kill himself. The rewards far outweighed the risks.

"Very well then. Sola, you will be Caster's master. I will provide the mana for Lancer from now on."

Sola looked at him, annoyed that he had done that without asking. She agreed with him, but he still should've asked if she wanted to be a target. Caster grabbed a bag that hanged on his belt. From the slight stench it gave off it must hold the command seals.

Kayneth smiled. Fortune was smiling upon them.

**(9:00am Saturday, Unknown Fuyuki Alleyway)**

"Hey. Look at this weird guy." A deep hoodlum voice woke Kariya up. He groaned as he started waking up. His chest still ached from when he felt Berserker getting stabbed. "Doesn't he know that you gotta pay a tax to sleep in our turf?" Kariya felt… better. Better than ever. It was like whatever Berserker injected took away all his other aches and pains when he destroyed the worms. His magic felt stronger too. "Let's show him what happens to people late with their rent."

At this Kariya woke up fully, his body already rolling away from the foot about to crush his skull. He got up quickly as he looked at the hoodlums. Three of them, all around 19 and smoking cigarettes, they had a dangerous look in their eyes. And knives and crowbars in their hands.

"I'm afraid I don't have any money on me." Kariya said as he stalled for time. Where was Berserker? He should've materialised already.

"Yeah?" a skinny man asked, his crowbar spinning in his hand. "Aww that's too bad. Guess we're gonna hafta take it outta ya hide." And with that he ran at Kariya, swinging his crowbar at him. Time seemed to slow as he got closer, but Kariya couldn't think of what to do. He raised his arm in time for the bar to hit it. On anyone else, the bar would've snapped his arm from the blow and Kariya was ready to scream in pain.

Instead, Kariya felt almost nothing. It was more like it had been placed against his arm with the slightest touch. Opening his eyes, Kariya saw that the bar had bent a little around his arm.

"What the fu…" The hoodlum said until Kariya pushed him. Instead of a slight stumbling, the hoodlum hit the concrete wall behind him hard enough to make a crater in it. He collapsed on the old bed Kariya had been sleeping on, blood dripping down from where he landed. Curious, Kariya picked up the crowbar the hoodlum dropped, and bent it.

The crowbar was bent in a full circle like rubber, groaning at the stress it was under. To Kariya it was like bending a paper tube. The other hoodlums started panicking as Kariya smirked at them.

"He wasn't kidding about being stronger." Kariya said almost to himself. He looked at another hoodlum, one with long black hair and sallow skin. One moment he was at the other end of the alley, the next Kariya was close enough to snatch his cigarette. "Faster too." Kariya head-butted the kid and felt the boy's face splatter against him. The last hoodlum, a black kid who had been talking first, threw his knife at Kariya. It sank up to the hilt in his chest, but it felt more like a paper-cut. Pulling it out Kariya chased the kid, wanting to teach him a lesson. Instead, he heard him scream and then there was a squelch as something was crushed. Rounding the corner, Kariya found Berserker.

He was surrounded by the bodies of more hoodlums, probably the rest of their gang. Tendril stretched out from him to them, and the bodies grew smaller as he drank them. The hoodlum Kariya had been chasing was being pulled into Berserker's chest, with only his shoes sticking out. With a final slurp, Berserker consumed the last of them. There was only silence as they stared at each other.

"Feels good, doesn't it Master?" Berserker said, dusting off his hands and stepping closer.

"I've… I've never felt so strong. What did you do to me?"

"I evolved you. Improved you. You are more like me than human. Better in every way."

"Is this what you did with Sakura?"

Berserker frowned. "As a rule I don't evolve kids if I can help it. I've only improved her perfectly human body. Her body has been healed of all damage and at its physical peak."

"This is unbelievable. Is everyone like this in your world?"

"I'd like the world to be like this. Unfortunately, the Government aren't that keen on it as you are."

"Why not? If this heals damage then there wouldn't be any more invalids."

Berserker waved Kariya over, inviting him to walk with him. "Because the source of my 'miracle cure' is actually an intelligent virus. One that if commanded to be harmful, could make every other plague look like the common cold."

Kariya was shocked by this, but before he could say anything Berserker continued.

"Don't worry. Like I said, it has to be commanded to be infectious. When docile, it's the perfect super-soldier serum. You'll probably be fit and healthy for the next Grail War."

"How did you discover it?" Kariya asked, wondering how a virus could be a cure.

Berserker walked a bit more before answering. "50 years ago, a team of scientists discovered a new virus they codenamed CARNIVAL 1. When they tested it on primates they got amazing results."

He already knew what results. "They were improved."

"Yep. Some of them were as smart as the scientists. So the lab boys decided to test it on people. They created a town in the middle of Idaho called Hope. They got together a wide variety of people, and injected them with CARNIVAL, now CARNIVAL 2. They watched the folks for months and they got nadda. Nothing. Zilch. The only sign it was even there was in the newborns."

"What happened?"

"They weren't born right. Mutations. Defects. Some were the old born with two heads, but one baby was born with spikes on his back. And every one of them was a stillborn. It was like the virus couldn't keep up with the baby's formation and just fucked everything up."

"Well, after all those months of nothing, the scientists called it a bust. They packed up their gear, shipped out the men, and left the town and the folks to their boring old lives."

"And that's when things **really** fucked up."

"They didn't realise that the **virus** was as smart as the boys. It had infected everyone in the town, gotten into every part of their bodies, and hid away inside them. When the scientists started leaving, everyone started dying within minutes. And then they rose up as mutated zombies."

"Suddenly the military got called in to contain the town. It would've been like a horror film. Weird monsters killing your men, then they got right back up and started attacking their own comrades. Zombie fusing together into something capable of ripping apart tanks. Nightmare."

"Fortunately for the world, the military managed to wipe out the lot of them. And then they found the prize in the box."

"Turns out one of the townsfolk, a young lady called Elizabeth Greene, had mutated differently. All the strength of the Infected, but she was still herself. More or less. I doubt you could see your town turn into monsters and get gunned down without getting a bit broken. Anyway, turns out Greene was pregnant when she mutated. And her kid was actually alive. The military grabbed her, grabbed her kid and firebombed the town to Kingdom Come. They discovered that she was creating a wide variety of strains in her body."

"And for some insane reason, they put her and all the samples right in the center of fucking New York City. And then they got together a team to try and find a way to take the Redlight samples, and make them even more dangerous."

"Alex Mercer here," And at that Berserker pointed at himself. "was the guy who cracked it. Called it Blacklight. Created a monster that could kill the world and all he could say about it was 'I wasn't paid to feel.'"

"After that though, one of the scientists got cold feet, or grew a conscience. He tried to get the story out to the public, since I doubt they would like this news. But the military unit attached to the project, Blackwatch, silenced him before he could. And then they decided to silence any other security risks. Like yours truly here."

"Well, Mercer didn't like that. So he stole a vial of his work and headed for Penn Station. Blackwatch surrounded him, and he threatened to break the vial. They pumped him full of lead, and New York was hit with the fucking Apocalypse."

"Part of the sample infected Mercer's body, and found he had the exact same coding Greene had, turning him into an intelligent infected. A Runner, as they're called. Cause he was almost brain-dead, I woke up with a bad case of amnesia. Got my memory back, but hell, I wish I hadn't."

"So there we were. A free-for-all between Blackwatch, the Infected, and little ol' me. And I won."

"You won a three-way war all on your own?" Kariya asked, amazed.

"Well it wasn't like they teamed up. They were busy killing each other too. After the end of the infection, I travelled abroad. Trying to find a place I could call home. Saw only pain, and misery, and people only caring about themselves. I moved far up north, had a new face, tons of cash, and tried to come to terms with myself. Became friends with the guy I was renting from. Flint and his daughter Autumn." He stopped to order Kariya a hotdog. Though he wasn't hungry, Kariya was grateful for the food.

"Did you like her?" He asked once he had his food. Berserker nodded.

"Yeah. I loved her. Never thought I could love until then." He looked wistful for a moment, then shook his head.

"Anyway. A couple of months later, some guy called Zurich showed up, wanted to buy Flint's land. Flint said no, but warned me that Zurich didn't take no for an answer. He was right, considering that very night two of his goons came to torch the house. After consuming them, I went to have a 'chat' with Mr Zurich."

"Found out that Flint used to be an enforcer for Zurich. I thought the guy was kind and gentle and all this time he had killed and hurt and intimidated people. My rage made me snap his neck, and I went to find Autumn. Get her to leave with me. Found her in my cabin. When I went to grab my cash, it was all gone. And she shot me full of bullets."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. The emotional pain was worse than being shot. I consumed her in revenge, and decided that it was time to improve Humanity. Whether they liked it or not."

"You really thought making them stronger would make the world better?"

"Their time had passed. I was the future. If I make the right strain, I can command the Infected, the Evolved. Alter them to act differently. By evolving the world, I could stop all suffering, all hatred, all wars." Mercer shrugged. "Instead, one of my Evolved resisted me, and finally consumed me."

"You don't sound too angry about it."

"Survival of the fittest. He was stronger than me. I lost. That's how the world works." He looked at Kariya. "This time, I think I'll try not to look and act like I want to kill the world."

Kariya smirked. "I can live with that." And so he passed through the Matou gate, eager to see how Sakura was doing.

**(9:00am Saturday, Tohsaka Mansion)**

Tokiomi pulled his jacket on. He had promised to see Aoi and Rin today to show he was still fine. For a moment he thought about his other daughter and his heart clenched. But he shook his head. Sakura was in perfect conditions. She was to inherit the Matou Mystic Crest. Zouken agreed to treat her like he'd treat his own sons. She and Rin would grow into beautiful women, and his heart would burst in happiness.

"Ready to go, Master?" Archer asked, and Tokiomi turned to face him. His eyes widened at Archer's look. Instead of the armoured cat-man he normally was, He looked human. His blond hair swept back to look like his ears and his green eyes looked slightly too large for his face. He was dressed in a black suit in the image of his own.

Tokiomi smiled. "That is some impressive illusion spell Archer. If I didn't know you I would say this is your true form."

"Oh. It's not a spell. It's just my hologuise." And by pushing on his belt buckle, Archer flipped sideways like a picture, with his real self standing before Tokiomi.

"_Of course." _He sighed internally. _"Everything he has is technology of one kind or another. Sometimes I wish the Grail gave me a magic user instead."_ Tokiomi merely said "I am ready." And Archer drove him to the safe-house Aoi was using.

**(9:30am, Tohsaka Safe house)**

Archer sighed as he watched Tohsaka hug his wife. It was really obvious that they loved each other, and it reminded him about Talwyn too much. He stepped back outside to give his master some time alone, and to reminisce about what he left behind.

Given the rules of summoning a servant, Archer didn't know how he was pulled through. One moment he was at the Great Clock, reading an alert about high energy levels in an unknown galaxy, the next he and Clank were pulled into this fight and with all new knowledge spinning around in his head. He hoped that he could win this, but also hoped that he would get sent back alive.

"Do you work for my father?" He heard a young girl ask him. Opening his eyes, he saw a black-haired, pigtailed girl in a red shirt looking at him. She had a suspicious look on her face, as if she didn't trust him.

"_This must be the master's kid, Rin"_ Archer thought as he turned to face her. "Yep. You know about this 'thing' he doing right now?"

She nodded, before her eyes widened as she realised something. "You're the servant, aren't you?" Archer nodded, and then she had an angry look on her face. "My father had better win this, or I'll make you pay."

Archer crouched down to look her in the eye. "I promise that anyone who wants to harm Master Tohsaka will have to go through me."

Rin smiled at that, before they noticed that Tokiomi was watching them. He smiled at Rin before looking at Archer. "Archer. I may be here for some time. You have my permission to wander the city until tonight."

Archer nodded. Thank you Master." He turned to leave, before remembering something that was bugging him. "Master? What did Berserker mean by his master hated you?"

Tohsaka frowned. "I don't quite know. The only family we haven't seen is the Matou family, and I have a good relationship with them." He waved his hand in front of his face. "Regardless, Berserker won't be a problem for much longer."

Archer nodded, knowing he wasn't going to get anything else. "Right. See you later Master." He walked out the gate before activating his hover boots. Hopefully, anyone who saw him would think he was wearing roller skates.

**(9:55am, Fuyuki Shopping District)**

"You think he knows something and isn't telling us?" He asked Clank as they walked around the shopping district. It amazed Ratchet just how… _primitive_ everything was. This world was seriously behind any galaxy he's ever been to.

"I do not know Archer." Clank replied. "It would not aid his cause to keep us in the dark about the motivations of the enemy. Most likely, he actually does not know what Berserker's Master's quarrel is."

"Right. In that case, keep an eye out for Berserker. I don't want any sneak attacks." Just then, a faint feeling of mana resounded behind him.

"Human resembling Caster approaching from behind." Clank warned. Archer turned around. Standing before him was definitely Caster, with a red-haired human standing next to him. She was obviously his master. Archer narrowed his eyes, before shaking his head at the nearby forest. Caster nodded, Ratchet's challenge accepted.

**(10:10am, Nearby Forest)**

"You know, when I said we'd be enemies next time I didn't quite imagine it would be this soon." Archer said as he stood at one side of a clearing. Caster stood at the other end, back in his regular outfit instead of the shirt and jeans he wore before. Similarly, Sola noted, Archer was back in his armour. Could that blonde boy be his real appearance? It was hard to guess with these new servants.

To think this had merely been a day to go shopping! Fate must've hated her to have them run into Archer so early. Still, she was glad to have listened to Kayneth before she left.

"_Take Caster with you Sola. If any servants find you, he can ensure your safety. If things are going very wrong, make sure to call me." Kayneth actually looked sad. "I'd rather lose the Grail than lose you."_

It touched her that he really did love her. Now if only he could rein in his ego.

"So any rules I should know about?" Caster asked as he got ready to fight.

"With all the trees around us we should avoid fire attacks. Flamethrowers, spells, fire mods. If it isn't contained in a Reality Marble it stays unused."

Caster nodded. "No targeting my master." He remembered to say. Though Archer was kind and trustful, he probably use everything he could to win.

"Agreed. I'd rather kill servants than masters." Archer agreed. "Clank, can you create a barrier or something?"

"Indeed." Archer's jetpack answered, surprising Caster and Sola as his wings contracted and he jumped off Archer. A tiny metal man, about the same size as one of Caster's Djinn, Walked over to her. He reached into his chest cavity and pulled out an orb of some kind. "Master of Caster, to activate the shield generator, press the yellow button on the side." Clank said as he passed it to her. "However, to compensate for the increased duration, its defensive capabilities have been compromised by 35%."

"It means it'll last longer than normal, but it's a bit weaker than usual." Archer translated when he saw her confused expression. Mages never really used technology, believing that magic could do it better. "So make sure to stay out of the range of our attacks."

"Don't worry Mistress Sola." Caster said, giving her a smile and a thumb's up. "I won't lose to Archer."

"A lot of people said that back home, and I proved them all wrong." Archer countered, as Clank hopped on his back again. Archer pulled out a large gun with three yellow barrels. Caster pulled his sword from his back. Sola quickly pushed the yellow button and a barrier surrounded her as she ran to a safe distance. The forest was still for a moment as the warriors sized each other up. Then Archer was blasting at Caster as both ran in a circle.

"**I Call Upon Granite, Zephyr"** Caster shouted, blocking a shot with the flat of his blade. A Venus and Jupiter Djinn appeared, glowing before the glow passed to Caster. Instantly, his speed increased and the shots were blocked better. Archer switched to an orange gun with four arms. As Caster moved closer to strike, Archer fired the gun. As Caster blocked it, His movement slowed and he was thrown back, hanging in mid-air. Archer pulled out a blue massive gun with four panels covering the mouth, resting it on his shoulder. It fired a blue and yellow ball that Caster couldn't dodge. A blue barrier shrouded him as the ball struck him. A mushroom cloud rose as a massive explosion decimated the forest. Sola thought that Caster was dead, when he shouted **"Cure All"** and charged through the smoke to Archer. Archer switched for two orange blocks that covered his hands. He charged at Caster, and as the two clashed, Caster was pushed away. Archer switched for a glove with a blue barrel on it. He threw a small ball at the ground as Caster attacked with his Gaia spell. Where the ball landed, a two-barrelled turret formed. It instantly shot at Caster, who had to dodge its blasts.

"**Quake"** Caster called out, causing the earth to shake and messing the turret's aim. **"Gust"** Another Jupiter Djinn flew towards the turret and exploded, destroying the machine. Caster quickly followed Archer into the forest, with Sola not far behind. As they moved through the trees, blasts were heard as they struck Caster. He rolled out of the way as they decimated the trees behind him. Looking over, Sola saw Archer standing still, firing a blast from each hand. "Got you now." Caster said as he dodged again and again. **"I Summon Thee, Atalanta"** A reality marble formed around them as a Greek maiden appeared in the sky. Arrows of air formed around her, before firing down on Archer's position. It destroyed him utterly. As the Marble faded, Caster looked sad. "Any other time, we might've been friends. I'm sorry Archer." But a powerful blast punched through Caster from behind. Crying out in pain, Caster pulled out some herb that healed the damage as though it weren't even there. Looking at where Archer had been, he flickered and revealed a cracked golden robot on a spring as it exploded.

"Nice try Caster, really. But I promised a little girl I'd protect her dad, and I'm not about to break my promise." Archer called out as another blast fired at Caster. **"Shade"** Caster called. A Mercury Djinn appeared and intercepted Archer's attack. Moving quickly, Caster sprinted in the direction of Archer's blast. Catching sight of Archer, Caster moved in as he called out **"Sap"**. A Venus struck Archer, revealing another robot as hovering spiked balls floated towards him. Calling out **"Whirlwind"**, a tornado pulled them in and caused them to explode. Seeing a **moving** Archer, Caster shouted **"Ray"** as a bolt of lightning struck Archer. His cry of pain showed that was the real Archer, and Caster gave chase. It was almost impossible for Sola to keep up. More explosions echoed ahead, and as Sola kept moving, she found more broken robots, scorch marks, and even an inflatable Archer just as they faded away. She finally caught up with them back in the original clearing, both clearly injured. Caster had bleeding wounds everywhere, and Archer was hunched over with a burn mark on his arm.

"**Grummelnet"** Archer called while Caster used **"Cure All"**. Blue orbs flowed from Clank to Archer, and he stood up straighter while the cocking of a gun echoed continuously through the air. They were about to clash again, when a fainter explosion was heard. Caster rolled, looking around wildly while Caster looked at his current gun – an olive gun with four barrels – before giving it a shake by his ear. Sola looked around until she saw the smoke rising from the city. Strangely, it came from a familiar direction. In fact it looked like it came from-

"Kayneth!" Sola screamed, realising the smoke was coming from the hotel. Caster and Archer looked at the smoke in alarm, before nodding at each other. Their fight was going to have to wait. **"Zephyr"** Caster shouted again, grabbing Sola as he ran, the shield lying abandoned at their feet. Archer grabbed the orb as he hovered past, his hologuise active again. Even though Kayneth wasn't his master, there may have been innocents caught up in the attack.

"_Please let him be ok. Please, please, please…"_

**(5 minutes ago, Construction Work next to Hyatt Hotel)**

"You shouldn't have done that." Saber said as he watched the fire billowing in the window. "You gave away the element of surprise, Emiya. You've let your target know you're here."

Emiya didn't answer him. Apparently there were lines Saber was willing to cross that he wasn't.

"Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi is an old-school Magus." Maiya told Saber. "He'll be expecting us to brave the deadly traps and monsters he's made. He'll never suspect this."

"You forget about Lancer." Saber retorted. "I already underestimated her before. Just because El-Melloi wouldn't expect this doesn't mean she wouldn't either. Your unwillingness to strike civilians could cost us dearly."

Emiya ignored him again, pushing the button on the detonator. Explosions echoed through the hotel, causing the people below to scream as it collapsed upon itself. He got up, certain that despite Saber's worry El-Melloi was dead. Even a powerful Magus like him couldn't survive something like that. But Saber's arm flew past his face, pointing at something in the sky. Emiya grabbed his rifle and turned. His eye widened as he saw a dragon flying out of the rubble. And on its back were Lancer and El-Melloi.

"Don't even say it Saber." Maiya gritted as the servant armoured up and stepped onto the barren floor. He raised Frostmourne above his head, the blade pointing at his feet, before activating a Noble Phantasm.

"**With Blood and Frost"** He shouted, stabbing the ground. It instantly turned to ice, cracks forming and showing the skeleton of a massive dragon below. Blue fire glowed in its eye sockets as it smashed through the ice. Saber moved to grab hold of it, but not before looking at Maiya.

"I told you so." He said, before being whisked upwards by a spinal bone. A tornado of ice and wind tore through the half-completed building, causing Emiya and Maiya to run before the girders landed on them. As the Dragon flew after Lancer, Maiya had only one thing to say.

"I hate that Servant."

**(10:40am, High above Fuyuki City)**

Lancer laughed and whooped as they flew through the air on Bahamut. It felt great to fly again, just like when she was with the others. Her master was clutching onto his seat so tightly his fingers were creaking.

Only minutes ago, a fire broke out in one of the lower floors. Kayneth said it was most likely another master, drawing away civilians so as to fight them directly. He went on and on about how the entire floor was filled to the brim with the best defences he could manage. Honestly it got boring really fast. Lancer had pulled out Bahamut's crystal just in case things got hairy.

And it was a good thing she did, as the entire hotel started tilting like they were on the back of an Adamantoise. As Kayneth cried out in alarm, she was already grabbing him and jumping out the window. She invoked Bahamut, before the three of them soared away. Looking back at the hotel, she saw it fall into itself. Whoever did this really wanted to avoid civilian casualties.

"_Bad luck for you mate. If you blew it up with everyone in it, we might've died in there."_

"Lancer!" Kayneth had gotten his voice back, much to her annoyance. "I arranged another safe location in case we were forced to run. Fly over the river and head near an abandoned warehouse."

"Yeah, yeah. We're going." Lancer sighed. She was about to ask if Sola knew about it, when Bahamut roared and twisted. Kayneth screamed while Lancer held on tightly. A massive icy blast flew past them, causing snow to fall and ice to form on them. If they hadn't moved when they had, they'd have been a massive hail-stone. Bahamut gave a twitch, and all the ice broke off. Kayneth got thrown up too, screaming as he landed in his seat. Ignoring him, Lancer looked down at where the blast came from. She was surprised to see Saber again, crouching on the head of a massive undead dragon. A whirlwind surrounded it, keeping the civilians from seeing them, but it looked ready to fire again.

Looks like Saber's got a pet." She shouted to her master as Bahamut pulled away. Kayneth looked over the edge and got even paler at the sight.

"A Dracolich?" He asked, his voice high pitched. "That's supposed to be impossible!"

"Says the man riding a metal dragon." Lancer shot back. "It doesn't seem as manoeuvrable as Bahamut. Time to take down a Saber." She tapped Bahamut on the back, getting him to fly above the clouds.

Saber watched as they flew higher. He smiled. Lancer was clearly accepting his challenge. By following he would have a chance to fix his master's mistake.

"Sindragosa." He commanded his dragon, who was once consort of the Blueflight. "Follow." The whirlwind rose up to meet the clouds as the two servants prepared to duel.

**And we have another awesome fight. Caster may seem over-powered by some, but he's like a sledgehammer. Archer on the other hand, has more than enough tricks to deal with any problem. If Caster didn't have a healing herb, he might've died right then.**

**Next time on Fate of The Strong, witness a real dragon fight. Who will come out on top?**

Archer

Name: Ratchet

Series: Ratchet and Clank

Master: Tokiomi Tohsaka

Alignment: Neutral Good

Strength: B

Endurance: A

Agility: A

Magical Power: N/A

Good Luck: B

Noble Phantasm: A+++

Class Skills:

Independent Action (A)

Independent Action is the ability to remain independent even when rejecting the prana supply from the Master. At the higher ranks, it is also possible to remain for extended periods of time in this world without an established contract. It is both useful and troublesome depending on the disposition of the Servant and the rank of Independent Action. Acting in autonomy from the Master's prana supply, the Master can concentrate their own prana on large spells, or the Servant will be fine even in the case they cannot supply prana due to injury. The downside is that they can be harder to control and keep by their side, making the only true way to command them by utilizing Command Spells. At this level can remain in this world for a week even after losing his Master. However, to use Noble Phantasms of great prana consumption, back up from the Master is necessary.

_Ratchet has always been near self-dependant, dealing with large groups of enemies on his own without backup._

Item Construction (B)

Item Construction is the skill to manufacture items. Archer can manufacture items of impressive technological power with the aid of Clank.

_As a Lombax, Ratchet has impressive skill with constructing highly advanced items, having built a working hover-bike, an antimatter bathroom buddy and even 'stunderwear'._

Personal Skills:

Battle Continuation (B)

Battle Continuation is the strength of vitality for predicaments. Also, the ability to withdraw from combat and reach allied territory alive after being defeated. At this level Archer can fight for longer than usual, but if he runs out of nanotech he will die.

_Due to nanotech advancements, Ratchet has been able to survive things that would kill lesser people. As long as he has nanotech, he can heal all injuries._

Bravery (C)

Bravery is the ability to negate mental interference such as pressure, confusion and fascination. Not usable under the effects of Mad Enhancement. At this rank Archer can ignore mental interference for a while, though continued use will overpower him.

_Ratchet has been brave enough to have confronted enemies far larger and stronger than him multiple times._

Clairvoyance (C)

Clairvoyance connotes superior visual perception and dynamic occipital capture, such as to supplement the long-range aiming of projectile weapons. At higher ranks, it is possible that the bearers of this skill have acquired such abilities as precognition ("future vision") and other forms of perception beyond standard eyesight (X-ray vision and so forth). At this rank Archer is capable of keeping track of fast-moving object within a range of 4kms.

_Due to training with weapons, Ratchet has become able to hit distant enemies with ease._

Disengage (C)

Disengage is the ability to break away from combat. Bonus effect of returning battle conditions to what they were at the beginning of the match.

_During his fights, Ratchet has sometimes been forced into a 'deja-vu' effect, as if he died and restarted the entire fight. Due to this, all ammo and health are restored, though he has acquired more bolts than he originally had._

Uncrowned Arms Mastership

Uncrowned Arms Mastership is arms competency that was not recognized by others due various reasons. To the opponents, the rank of Ratchet's weapons appears to be one degree lower than what it actually is. If his true name is revealed, this effect will be terminated.

_All the enemies Ratchet has fought failed to understand the sheer destructive power he has because of his small stature. As such, they do not notice his firepower until they are struck by it._

Noble Phantasms:

Tools of Destruction (Anti-Unit to Anti- Fortress)

Ratchet summons every weapon he has used in battle against his enemy. This can include pistols, rifles, grenades, rockets, transmorgifiers, shields, robots, other strange weapons, and WMDs.

_Over the course of his adventures, Ratchet has bought, earned and sometimes even built a wide range of weapons with different features. As they are all part of his legend, he can summon any of them at will. However, if they run out of ammo, he can't use that weapon until the next fight._

Keeper of Time

Ratchet's long-time ally and best friend, Clank is always with him and providing Intel. Needed to use _Grummelnet_ and _War-bot 2.0_. Can become larger to fight alongside Ratchet.

_Ratchet's long-time friend, these two first met fighting against Chairman Drek. They have been through all kinds of adventures, and are willing to die defending each other._

Grummelnet

Once per battle, Clank can refill Ratchet's nanotech and ammo.

_Due to the lack of nano-crates and ammo stores, Clank is able to replicate their effects during a fight. Fleeing the fight for any reason will allow him to reload and heal Ratchet again._

War-bot 2.0 (Anti-group/Anti-Army)

Clank utilizes enlargement technology, becoming a 50 metre tall heavily armed war machine.

_While on Clank's home world, Quartu, They discovered a machine that granted Clank an Ultra-Mech form. He became larger and more heavily armed, able to destroy a small fleet or planet._


	6. Dragonfight, Dragonfight

**Here we go. The climactic battle between two powerful dragons! Who will win? The speedy dragon of metal? Or the unstoppable dragon of bone? Tune in to find out.**

Chapter 6: Dragonfight, Dragonflight

**(11:00 am, High above Fuyuki City)**

Kayneth was not a cowardly man. He may not always charged head-on into battle like a Neanderthal, but he didn't cower, he didn't wet himself in fear, and he **never** screamed like a little girl.

Right now he was doing all three.

In his defence, he was over 2 miles above the city, on the back of a dragon that twisted and turned like some demented roller-coaster, he didn't have seat-belts or any kind of safety harness and did he mention the massive Dracolich **THAT WAS TRYING TO KILL HIM!?**

Despite Lancer's confidence they would win, they were making remarkably little headway. Though Bahamut was definitely fast enough to run rings around the Dracolich, it was simply too large and too strong for their attacks to affect it. If anything, they were just making it angrier. And meanwhile its own attacks were freezing everything near them as they passed, so that Bahamut had to always shake the ice off. Kayneth had lost his grip and was flung off a few times, and everytime Lancer just managed to grab him before the Dracolich swallowed him whole.

Kayneth swore that if he ever survived this he was never going to fly with Lancer ever again. And that he would stay far away from anything with lots of sharp pointy teeth.

To make matters worse, the Saber's presence was causing it to hail. Everytime the hail hit him it was like being beaten with a baseball bat.

"We need to pull out." Lancer shouted into his ear, brushing frost from her eyebrows. Kayneth heartily agreed with her. In fact, if it was up to him in the first place, they would never had fought the thing in the first place. If only he had enough wits to use a command seal at the time.

Bahamut angled downwards, moving at an insane pace, dodging all the ice blasts as they passed them. Soon they would be below the clouds and Saber wouldn't be able to follow them without breaking the rule of secrecy. Clouds stopped buffeting them as they left them behind. Lancer seemed to relax at this, though she looked annoyed that she had to run. A roar made her look back, probably to gloat, when he face grew pale. She turned to scream into Bahamut's ear.

"Get us outta here!" Kayneth looked back at Saber, wondering what could frighten Lancer, when his blood ran cold.

Though Saber wasn't following them, his dragon was charging a powerful breath attack, the ice billowing out of its mouth and hail the size of boulders falling around it. It let off a comet of ice and wailing souls that moved faster than he could believe possible. Soon it was creating frost on Bahamut's tail, and his teeth started chattering. Looked down to see that Bahamut was heading down for a forest, not too far from their next base. Bahamut pulled up at the last moment, flying over the treetops as the blast struck the ground. An explosion of ice and magic followed them, causing more and more ice to form on Bahamut. Eventually, his wings couldn't take the strain, and they started falling. The last thing Kayneth remembered was how strange it was that the ground ahead of them was frozen over too, before everything went black.

**(11:45am, Fuyuki Highway)**

"…Meteorologists are still baffled at the strange weather patterns and hail that pelted the city barely an hour ago." The radio was saying as Maiya and Emiya drove back in silence. "According to their readings, it was almost as if the weather formed right over Fuyuki City from a tornado that apparently formed from the ground up. At what they're calling 'ground zero', a massive crater of ice had formed there. They are still puzzling over how that happened. Because of the strange weather however, there have been reports of 25 deaths from either hailstones of unnatural size, heavy wind, or even freezing blasts of cold falling from the sky. An addition 158 have been injured as well, with the most common injury being frostbite, followed by head trauma. And Finally over 1.78 million Yen of damage has occurred, with the largest being the terrorist attack on the Fuyuki Hyatt Hotel. Police are investigating the attack, reasoning that a target was staying in the hotel at the time. They said that if it wasn't for the fire earlier, everyone in the hotel would have died in the collapse. The people's thanks go to this mysterious arson. In other news…"

Emiya turned off the radio. He and Saber were going to need to talk about this event. No doubt the servant would be less willing to follow his instructions next time after this. He could tell Maiya was fuming over the mistake.

Stupid really. They should've known the servant wouldn't act like El-Melloi. His bleeding heart would doom them. But he just couldn't kill all those people. To him, there was no need for it.

He just hoped Saber was able to finish the job.

**(12:30pm, Fuyuki Castle)**

When Emiya and Maiya pulled up to the front door, Iri felt relieved. She had been told of their plan and heard of the bombing, but the storm was definitely unnatural. And after reports of deaths, she worried for Kiri's safety. She rushed out the door and gave Kiri a back-breaking hug. As he hugged her back, a horse's neigh sounded. Maiya tensed as Arthas rode in on an undead horse. Its ribs were showing, literally, and its skull was adorned with a golden headdress. Ghostly-blue eyes stared at them, both Arthas and the horse.

"Did you succeed?" Kiri asked Saber. Iri wondered what he meant, then realised the storm was from Arthas. Stupid of her, really. Arthas has shown Caster levels of magic with cold.

Arthas took his time answering. He got off his horse, stroking his mane and feeding him magic. Kiri was going to ask again when he answered. "Lancer's dragon was faster than mine. I'd like to think that I got her or her master, but prior experience has taught me it's better to act as though they survived. Such a shame you lost your nerve, _Master_." His voice was dripping with disdain at that last word. Something must've happened during the assassination attempt. While they weren't really friends, they were at least cordial. "Clearly, I underestimated you. I thought you were truly willing to do whatever it takes to reach your goal. Irisviel told me what you want. To achieve world peace. Surely you aren't so blinded by petty morality to put mere dozens before the world." Arthas shook his head. "But you're just like the rest. Too blind to do what's necessary." Arthas walked away, his cape swishing dramatically. "And until you realise the truth, I'm afraid we cannot work together anymore."

**(1:30pm, Matou Manor)**

Kariya thought that having his broken body healed was the best feeling he could have.

He was mistaken. Seeing Sakura looking better than ever was the best thing he could have.

Her smile warmed his heart. They had been enjoying their new-found strength with a game in the park, before the storm – clearly a servant battle – and they had rushed back into the Matou Manor. Though they both didn't like their time there, it was enchanted enough that a stray spell couldn't just crush them. They were playing with dolls when a rat squeaked out 'a shave and a haircut'. They heard Byakuya scream a high, shrilly scream and as they looked out the room they saw him running down the hall. Behind him was a flood of rats and racoons and other pests. The pests started melting, running into a pool of blood so thick it was black. Berserker rose up from the puddle like some sort of fae. Which, given what he told Kariya, would certainly be appropriate.

"Must you absolutely terrify my brother like that?" He asked Berserker with a sigh. While he didn't like his brother's 'better-than-you' attitude, being chased by a powerful servant wasn't really something he'd go for.

Berserker smirked. "It gives me a few laughs. And I need them after what I've seen today."

"What do you mean?" Kariya wondered. Sakura was hugging Berserker's leg, still grateful for healing her.

"Saw plenty today." He said, sitting down on a chair in the hall. The chair snapped instantly, causing Berserker to curse. He flowed his biomass into another chair, and sat down again. "Caster's master is some red-haired woman named Sola. Since she ran off when Lancer was attacked, she must be with El-Melloi. Caster can use those 'djinn' of his to enhance himself or attack, and can use them to create a mini Reality Marble with a creature in them. And he can apparently use them again. Not sure on their max usage."

"Archer's definitely more dangerous than we first thought. During his battle with Caster, he pulled out more weapons than an entire Blackwatch squadron. And they've got plenty of effects I've only seen in fiction. He's got a little robot helper and a powerful shield, along with some healing effect. There's no doubt that in a ranged battle Archer would kill me before I could deal with him. We'll have to get in close and rip him apart before he can react."

"And the battle in the park?"

Berserker snorted. "**Over** the park, you mean. About 2 miles over. The scouts that survived showed me that it was Saber and Lancer having a fight on dragons. Saber's dragon was a Dracolich too big for Lancer to hurt. Lancer ran, and it looked like Saber landed a pretty solid hit. Won't know more until the church confirms it."

Byakuya screamed again, though it was distant this time. And from the basement. They headed over to find it looking unrecognisable.

Flesh covered the walls, with large pulsating over the place. _Things_ were twitching inside, and only some looked human. In the centre was a massive one that was impossible to see in. Byakuya was shaking, his pants soiled as he gasped in fear. Kariya made sure that Sakura couldn't see past him.

"Berserker." He asked. "What is all this?"

"My work." Berserker said bluntly. "We'll need soldiers to help us win, and these guys fit the bill. Then I can convert them into my cure, and we'll all live happily ever after."

Kariya was shaking slightly. These creatures reminded him too much of his time with the worms. God knows what Sakura will react when she see this. He pulled his brother through the doorway before closing it. "Once these ones are… birthed, I want you to pack this up and find somewhere **far** away from here. Understood?"

Berserker frowned before nodding. "Crystal." He walked off. Going wherever he went during the day. Kariya knew he should have a better idea where his servant was going and doing, but as long as he won he didn't care. He turned to smile at Sakura. "Now, wasn't Miss Yamato inviting Kokoro over for tea?"

**(8:00pm, Unknown)**

_Kayneth opened his eyes and knew he wasn't in Fuyuki._

_Though the place was filled with skyscrapers, but it was in the middle of a wilderness, like something had picked up the city and dropped in the middle of nowhere. High in the sky, monsters flew like birds, while a stone giant wandered the plains and occasionally grabbing a monster and eating it. The people wondered around, wearing strange Indian garbs and carrying weapons. Evidently, monster attacks were common around here_

_And Lancer was walking around with another girl._

_This girl was in her teens, possibly 18 at the oldest. She had vibrant orange hair in pigtails. Her clothing looked indecent, with a midriff-bearing pink top and a fur skirt, and decorated with beads everywhere. She seemed bubbly and cheerful, skipping around Lancer. Lancer, for her part, seemed to enjoy her company, laughing every now and there._

_Then, the memory cut to the people waving their weapons at the moon, the Grail telling him it was an artificial moon called Cocoon. Those who lived in Cocoon thought themselves better than the people who stayed on Gran Pulse. A Fal'Cie, a machine god, had made Lancer and her friend, Vanille, into L'Cie. L'Cie act as agents of the Fal'Cie, becoming crystals when they succeed and Cieth when they failed. Lancer and Vanille's focus was simple._

_Fuse into Ragnarok, and destroy Cocoon._

_Lancer became a massive monster, with multiple arms and dragon parts. Ragnarok flew at Cocoon, leading a fleet of planes. Despite the Cocoon L'Cie best efforts, Ragnarok broke through their defences and smashed a hole in the surface. But a strange magic enveloped him, turning him back into her and turning the two girls into crystal. Without Ragnarok, the Pulsian assault failed. And the girls vanished._

_Centuries later, they appeared on Cocoon. Lancer had lost her memory, but she could tell Vanille remembered. All she could tell was that their focus was killing Cocoon Fal'Cie. Their attempt to kill Kujata, who acted as a living power plant, failed and resulted in a little boy becoming a L'Cie. Lancer had Vanille escape, while she fought off their pursuers. But the Cocoon defenders, the Cavalry, captured her. But instead of arresting her, they offer to help her find Vanille again._

_Days later, the Pulse Fal'Cie, Anima, made more L'Cie to complete Cocoon destructions. Fang and the Cavalry found Snow trying to free the crystal of his fiancée from frozen lake. They then reunited with his friends Lightning and Hope, from a trap in Palumpolem. After hiding out in Hope's home, they found out that Vanille was captured by PSICOM, along with the final L'Cie Sazh._

_Using a 'borrowed' plane, they infiltrated the mothership Palamecia that Vanille and Sazh were being kept on. They met up hallway through, the two using their attack as a plan to escape. They went to attack the Cocoon Primarch, Galenth Dysley, who was on-board at the time. And discovered a chilling truth._

_Dysley was actually a Fal'Cie, Barthandelus, who had created Cocoon to kill everyone on-board, and open a path to their creator. He had organised Lancer's focus to achieve this goal, and now it was the whole group's focus. They fought him, but he merely vanished and gave them a vessel off the ship. After ending up in a secret ark filled with Pulsian monsters, they finally reached Gran Pulse itself. Lancer's people had died out ages ago, the survivors either becoming Cieth or being killed by the monsters._

_After pondering their focus, the group decided that they will stop Barthandelus and his plot. If they didn't, he would force others to do it instead. Travelling to Cocoon's capital, Eden, they launched a charge straight to the heart of Eden. Inside they found the Fal'Cie Orphan, who powered all Cocoon Fal'Cie. His death would lead to the death of Cocoon itself. When they reached him, he tortured Vanille. Lancer agreed to become Ragnarok to stop her suffering. Trying to stop her, the other became Cieth, attacking her over and over again. After Orphan tries to force her again, the others remember their struggles, and start attacking him to save Cocoon._

_But unfortunately, beating him still follows Barthandelus' plan. As Cocoon falls, Lancer and Vanille fuse into Ragnarok once more. But this time to save it. Using lava and crystal dust, Ragnarok catches Cocoon in a pillar of crystal, at the cost of becoming crystal themselves. But Lancer didn't care, as she would always be with Vanille, no matter what._

Kayneth gasped as he finally woke up. His body felt so cold, lying on a table. The ceiling was cracked and scarred, like a fight had happened here. And yet it still felt…

"_Right. We're in the abandoned warehouse Sola and I found"_ Kayneth realised. Sola stepped into view, and she had clearly been crying.

"You were incredibly lucky to have survived that Kayneth." She said, with a teary smile on her face. Kayneth tried to get up, but his left hand felt… odd.

"But there was still some damage. Lancer used her magic to keep you alive until Caster and I could find you, but whatever magic that dragon used was too much for either of them." Kayneth looked down, and saw that he was actually missing his hand. Thankfully it wasn't the hand that held the seals.

"Necromancy and frost." He said as he remembered the energy fired at them. "With such a powerful combination I should be thankful I'm still alive."

"Mistress Sola?" They heard Caster ask. "Is Master Kayneth ok?"

"Yes, I am. And I understand I have you and Lancer to thank for it."

Caster rubbed the back of his head, clearly embarrassed. "Lancer's the one you should thank. Without her you would've died before we found you. I just healed as much as I could."

Kayneth nodded. "Where is my servant anyway?"

He found her staring at the moon, possibly thinking about Cocoon and her friends. He stood next to her for a while, his body still feeling shaky after its brush with death. After some time she finally spoke.

"So. You must be feeling pretty well to be up and about."

Kayneth just kept looking at the moon. "Sola and Caster said I have you to thank for my continued existence."

She shrugged. "Don't know about that. My magic kept you alive, sure. But I was never really that good as a healer like some of my friends. If Caster didn't show up then your body might've fallen apart. Had to hack what was left of your hand before it spread."

"Thank you" Lancer looked surprised when he said that. The servant probably didn't expect someone like him to know **how** to say thank you. They stared at the moon again before Kayneth talked again.

"Right now, the moon looks very much like Cocoon." Lancer tensed up, then relaxed as knowledge from the Grail filled her mind.

"You saw my memories." It was a statement, not a question.

"How did you two meet? The memories started at when you became L'Cie."

"What you saw was the ending to the War of Transgressions, a bloody conflict between Gran Pulse and Cocoon. To hear the elders talk, Cocoon was made by a goddess of evil, and all who abandoned the land for it must pay for their heresy. And Cocoon attacked us as proof of their inherent evil." She snorted. "Course, when I was with the Cavalry, their history called Gran Pulse hell-on-earth and say we launched the first blow, so I bet neither side knew what was going on."

"Me and Vanille lived in the same village, and we'd both lost our parents to the War. I knew we couldn't trust our 'guardian' Fal'Cie anymore, so I swore I'd do anything to keep her safe."

Kayneth smiled, moved by Lancer's protectiveness of her friend. He could easily see himself doing the same for Sola. Lancer stepped away from the pillar she'd been leaning on and walked away. "you might want to do a _thorough_ check-up, Sir. Make sure nothing else fell off."

Kayneth threw a small fireball for her cheek, but they both knew she could avoid it. Her chuckle echoed through the building.

**(8:30pm, Unknown)**

Deep inside a dark foreboding basement, a strange man was concocting a dark ritual. Everything about him was hidden by his large black cloak as he dipped tarot cards in blood.

"_Those fools think themselves so superior because they were chosen."_ He thought to himself as he arranged the cards. _"Well I'll show them. Soon I will reign supreme against them __**all**__."_

He chanted his spell, and the cards flashed and swirled around him, before settling on the ground again. Turning over the three before him, he smiled and cackled.

The cards spoke of him winning, of crushing all the opposition. The fate of the fools were sealed.

The Holy Grail will belong to him.

**Interesting. Looks like we have another player in the games. Everyone else should watch out for this guy.**

**And we finally see the history of a Servant! This is great for anyone who hasn't figured out who the Servants are. And I know that in the anime Sola doesn't really care for Kayneth. But she was being affected by a curse, so she wasn't in her right mind. Here, she doesn't have that kind of problem, so everything is a bit healthier between them.**

**And finally, Since we've already had two fights between him and Lancer, I'm putting up Saber's stat sheet. Again, sorry if it seems over-powered.**

Class: Saber

Name: Lich King

Series: Warcraft

Master: Kiritsugu Emiya

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Parameters

Strength: A++

Endurance: A

Agility: D

Magical Power: A

Good Luck: D

Noble Phantasm: A++

Class Skills:

Magic Resistance (EX)

The Servant is completely immune to magic, though specialised spells could affect them.

_The Plate of the Damned grants The Lich King near-invulnerability to magic._

Riding Skill (A+)

Creatures on the level of Phantasmal Beast and Divine Beast can be used as mounts. However, unless he has control over them, this does not include Dragon kind.

_The Lich King has ridden a horse and a Dracolich._

Personal Skills:

Bravery (A)

Bravery is the ability to negate mental interference such as pressure, confusion and fascination. Not usable under the effects of Mad Enhancement.

_The Lich King is immune to all mental interference._

Charisma (A+)

Charisma is the natural talent to command an army. Increases the ability of allies during group battles. A rare talent, and an ability inherent to Servants of the Saver class. It is said that a rank of B in this skill is sufficient to lead a nation as its King. At A+ it is no longer popularity, but rather a kind of spell (curse) in itself.

_The Lich king was seen as a god by the Cult of the Damned, and the entire Scourge obeyed his every command._

Discernment of the Poor (A)

This is insight to see through the opponent's character and attribute. At this level he will not be deceived by excuses and deceptions from words.

_The Lich King could not be swayed by words and excuses._

Divinity (A)

The measure of whether one has Divine Spirit aptitude or not. At high levels one is treated as a mixed race of a Divine Spirit, and the level declines when the Heroic Spirit's own rank as a Monster, Demonic Beast raises. It can also decrease due one's dislike for the gods. It also has an effect which reduces special defensive values called "purge defence" in proportion to the Divinity's Rank. It can break through Skills such as Protection of the Faith.

_The Lich King fulfilled the attributes for one to be revered as a god in Azeroth._

Eye of the Mind (True) (B)

A heightened capacity for observation, refined through experience. At this level a Servant is capable of calm analysis of battle conditions even when in danger and deduce an appropriate course of action after considering all possibilities to escape from a predicament. So long there is even a 1% chance of a comeback, this ability greatly improves the chances of winning.

_The Lich King has fought dozens of battles against enemies of all kinds._

High-Speed Divine Words (A)

High-Speed Divine Words is the power to activate Thaumaturgy without the use of Magic Circuits. The language of the Age of Gods, back when words played a heavy role in spellcasting. As such, it is power long lost by modern magi. At this level High-Thaumaturgy-level Magecraft can be cast at the speed of Single-Action spells.

High-Speed Incantation (A)

High-Speed Incantation is the capacity to recite spells at high speeds.

_The Lich King learned how to cast powerful spells in a single action._

Instinct (A)

Instinct is the power to "feel" the most favourable developments for oneself during battle. At this level it is a refined sixth sense that is now close to true precognition. Bonus effect of reducing by half the penalties caused by obstructed vision and hearing.

Military Tactics (B)

Military Tactics is tactical knowledge used not for one-on-one combat situations, but for battles where many are mobilized. Bonus modifiers are provided during use of one's own Anti-Army Noble Phantasm or when dealing against an enemy Anti-Army Noble Phantasm.

_The Lich King was a brilliant tactician in life and undeath._

Pioneer of the Stars (EX)

Pioneer of the Stars is the unique Skill given to heroes that became turning points in the human history. All difficult voyages and challenges which are considered "impossible" turn into "events that can be realized".

_During his unlife, The Lich King irreversibly changed Azeroth and all its people._

Noble Phantasms:

Frostmourne Hungers (Anti-Unit)

Saber's sword generates extreme cold and drains mana with every strike.

With Blood and Frost (Anti-Unit/ Anti-City)

The Lich King stabs his sword into the ground, summoning his personal dragon, Sapphiron.

The Damned Stand Ready (Anti-Army – Anti-World)

The Lich King Summons a Reality Marble based on Ice Crown Citadel, calling upon the scourge to fight for him. Weak against holy power.

Wrath of the Lich King (Anti-Army)

Using all his mana, the Lich King unleashes a wave of necromantic and frost energy, killing all in its immediate area. Can be avoided by outrunning. Leaves Saber weaker until mana is replenished.


	7. Mugging The Monster

**Well if one was wondering about Avenger, don't worry. You'll finally see her in action today. And we still have a Fuyuki Killer again.**

Chapter 7: Mugging the Monster

**(9:05pm Monday, Fuyuki City)**

Rin shivered as she crept through the sleeping city. Part of her wanted to head back home where it was safe, but a bigger and more stubborn part kept her going.

Not long after the bombing of the Hyatt Hotel, people had started disappearing. Police were apparently confused, given that they found the corpse of the infamous 'Fuyuki Ripper'. They advised keeping all doors locked, stay in groups, and call for help if they saw anything weird. But students were still going missing. It wasn't uncommon to go to school and have an empty seat next to you. While Rin felt for them, she wasn't sure what she could ever do.

Then her best friend Kotone went missing.

Using magic and a special compass her father gave her, she managed to track Kotone to her current location. But now it was having trouble finding her, and she ended up lost and in danger of vanishing herself.

She didn't know how things could get worst.

Unbeknownst to Rin, she was being watched by Avenger, who had spotted her walking through the streets. She had detected mana flowing through the girl and decided to see what was going on. Besides, she had heard about the missing people and her conscience just wouldn't let her leave.

After the servant attack at the hotel, everyone seemed subdued these last couple of days. Few left their bases and though who did failed to cross paths. She counted herself fortunate that Fate supplied her with all the mana she needed. Still, she wanted to make a union before someone got her first.

Part of her wondered if she should introduce herself to the girl, but decided against it. For all the girl knew, Avenger was the one doing all the killings. Better to just follow her until she needed rescuing.

And so Magus-in-training and Servant walked through the alleyways, looking for anything that could help. Rin had nearly given up when the compass had started working again. She followed it to the entrance of the sewers, where she stopped to think. She could alert the authorities, but they might get here too late. And they certainly wouldn't believe her when she said she found it with a magic compass. Steeling herself, Rin walked into the tunnel with Avenger not far behind. It took forever, but eventually she reached the end. Growling and chomping noises echoed back to her. Shuffling closer and closer, Rin saw a sight that made her gasp.

A massive pile of flesh sat in the center of the massive chamber, an unholy mix of white and red flesh. One hand was massive, with joints that seemed to bend backwards. And the other hand was a red head, with eyes decorating the sides. Two more heads were swaying around, fighting over something to eat. And the heads looked up at her gasp, letting her see that in the mouth of the right head was the legs of a school girl

_Kotone_

The monster bellowed, and the heads charged right at her. Too frightened to move, Rin would've been devoured if three purple arrows blasted right into the creatures' eyes. It roared in pain as a woman in a black-and-gold robe walked in, a purple bow with spikes and swirls in one hand. It seemed as those she made it out of pure mana. A cape billowed out behind her as a mask covered her face. She turned to look at Rin.

"Stay here." She said in a legion of voices. She turned back to face the monster and dodged just when a mouth was about to strike her. She let off another arrow into the mouth of another head, which pinned the beast's tongue down. The heads started spitting flesh at her, but she just kept dodging, firing a bunch of arrows in an arc to skewer the creature's backside. As it turned Rin could see a giant face on its back.

But the beast kept coming no matter what. And strange things started crawling out of the shadows. Soon they had surrounded the archer, and would've attacked if they weren't stopped by a laughing thing.

It was a squishy black thing with a white mask on one side. It kept laughing before finally speaking. "So…warrior…us…try to kill… Servant." Its speech slurred and screeched. "Fail…you will…Fate…we win…will." A hand of bone pointed at the archer, and the hound-like things attacked.

But the archer was ready for them. She jumped into the air and threw little things at the monsters. As soon as they hit the ground, they exploded. Those who weren't ripped apart were thrown in the air. She glowed purple, and her attire changed. She wore a heavy suit of red armour, with spikes jutting everywhere and a red cape billowing. In one hand was a large hammer with a big blue rune on the head, and in the other was a massive sword with a split in the tip and curving steel decorating the blade. As the creatures got back up and swarmed her, she glowed red and swung the massive weapons.

The results were spectacular and bloody. Creatures were cleaved in two by the sword or crushed by the hammer. Her strikes got faster and stronger with every enemy she killed. A few got past her weapons, but their strikes bounced off her armour, leaving them dazed enough for her to squash. When things got to crowded, she stomped the earth, causing cracks in the ground, stone spikes to jut out, and rubble to fall from the ceiling. The large monster charged in again, but squealed as the sword cleaved a head off. The creatures piled on her, but she shouted and they all were blasted off by the force. She jumped in the air, glowing as she floated, then slammed into the ground. All the enemies were lifted and slammed into the ground with enough force to explode. The blob thing was shaking with rage.

"Win…not. Fate…win…us."

The warrior threw her blade at the beast, pinning its hand to the ground. She glowed again and wore the black robe again. Though this one looked more like a Magus robe than before, and had streaks of green in it. On her back were two giant curved blades, and her hands held large metal circles with a purple glow in the centre.

"Here's what I think of your fate. **Unbound By Fate.**" She shouted, before glowing again and slamming her fists together. The creatures were knocked back as her weapons glowed brighter. She then threw her circles around her, faster than possible. The creatures were sliced, with glowing purple lines where the blades had struck. She grabbed the blades on her backs while placing the circles there. Rin saw that there was a handle in the middle, with the blades curving in an arc. She spun through the air like a drill, passing through any monster that got in her way. The beast tried to eat her, but she was moving too fast for it. Spinning in circles, more and more lines were drawn on the beast. Rin noticed that the energy was being drawn from everything in the room. The energy formed the hammer again, which the servant smashed a second head with. As the third whimpered in pain, she turned the hammer into a spear, throwing it through the final head with so much force that it was skewered against a pillar. The hand left behind under the sword flopped as blood gushed from where it had ripped off. She stopped glowing, and all the creatures she struck fell apart along the lines. Soon only her and the blob were left.

"Sorcery…What…How?" It spluttered.

"I am the Fateless One. I was made to subvert Fate itself. And I just ripped out your monsters' fate, and beat them to death with it."

"No…no…NO!" It screamed as it fired a horde of insects at the woman. A blue barrier surrounded her as she charged the blob. Bony limbs reached out to grab her, but she threw symbols at him which exploded. The explosions killed off most of the bugs, while maiming the limbs. The blob withdrew into a puddle and swirled erratically at the woman. Before she could react, the blob reached her and punched her into the air, landing blow after blow on her before slamming her into the ground. She glowed again, standing up in a blue robe and cape, a staff in her hands. She slammed it into the ground, causing an undead to materialise and engage the blob. While it soaked up the blows, she glowed with a green light before looking healed. As the undead fell apart, she threw lightning at the blob. It screamed in pain as she rushed forward, causing blocks of ice to land on him. As she got close enough, she jumped back while throwing fire and ice at the blob, before a lightning bolt flashed from her hands. As the blob ran out a tunnel, runes flowed from her hands, breaking the chains of the children still alive. She ran out the tunnel after the blob, while Rin stepped in to find Kotone. She found her near a pillar, and squealed with delight that she was still ok. As they hugged though, a hiss echoed through the air. As the other children screamed, Rin turned to see that some of the creatures were still alive, the woman having missed them. One charged at Rin, claws ready to kill, when something jumped through the air and slammed into it. While it splattered against the ground, enough light was in the chamber for her to see it was…

"Uncle Kariya?" Rin asked, wondering when he got here. Kariya turned to smile at her, grabbing another creature and throwing it at another like a rag doll. The two bounced along the ground before slamming into the far wall. Her eyes widened. Since when could Uncle Kariya reinforce himself enough to do that?

"Rin." He said. "I'm so glad you're still alright." He turned to another man with him, who had punted a creature **through** a wall. "Mercer, I'm going to get these kids out. Mop up the rest of these things."

"Gotcha." Mercer said in a gravelly voice. Something about him just made Rin shudder, like when she saw the beast. Rin help Kariya gather the children and lead them out the tunnel she went through, while Mercer crushed monsters like paper. As they left the room, she thought she heard Mercer chuckle. Then something made a slithering sound.

And the creatures screamed.

**(9:40pm, Fuyuki River)**

Arakune whimpered in pain. This wasn't right. This wasn't fair. His master assured him that Fate said they'd win. All their enemies would be crushed underfoot.

Yet that wasn't **happening**.

Some whore just strolled in and killed all those monsters like it was nothing. He refused to believe she had killed them with their own fate. That was impossible.

Wasn't it?

As he reached the outside, another lightning bolt struck him from above. Looking up, he didn't see the woman charge him until a charkram slashed into him. He screamed, moving back as fast as he could. Fire runes flew around him, blocking his path on all fronts. He turned to face the Fateless One as the air hummed with power.

"Who is your master?" She asked. "What are your motives? And how do all these people factor in?"

Arakune would never tell her the answers. His pride would never allow it. "Go…to…Hell." He spat.

The woman sighed, but then started drawing in magic. Arakune charged her, but her spellwork was fast. She cast it while jumping past the ring of runes she had made.

And nothing happened.

He started laughing, thinking her spell had failed, when she pointed up. Looking upwards, He started shaking. If he still had intestines, he would've soiled himself.

For a falling star was heading right at him.

He rushed through the line, hoping to escape his fate. But the woman started up the runes, causing him to get bounced from one fire to another.

There was no escaping it.

He was going to die.

Such was his fate.

And he could do nothing to avoid it.

A massive explosion echoed through the air and fire danced through the sky as a small meteor fell. The cars on the bridge swerved around as the force knocked them around and the heat burst their tires. Windows blew out and a small earthquake shook the ground.

And one false Servant gone in a fiery explosion.

**(9:50pm, Fuyuki church)**

Risei Kotomine looked like he was going to have a heart attack Things were getting impossible to hide. Dragons fighting in the sky. A hailstorm that nearly flattened the city. And now a small meteor of all things. And the church was expected to help pay for all this. Honestly, Kirei was surprised that his father hadn't dropped dead from the strain.

And part of him wished he could see him drop.

He went downstairs back to his room, to pray and absolve himself of such impure thoughts. As he unlocked the door, he was surprised to see a man already inside. Wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans, he was currently browsing Kirei's personal library. Quick as thought, he threw three Black Keys at the man, aiming for his back. No ordinary man could live through such an attack.

Which was why he was surprised when the man did not react when the Keys skewered his heart. He merely said, "That wasn't very nice." And went back to reading.

Kirei threw three more Keys, but this time the man's hand blurred, and he clutched the Keys in his hand. Squeezing tightly, he shattered the blessed blades while grabbing Kirei with the other hand. He flicked Executor into the far wall with enough force for him to bounce off. Before Kirei could catch his breath, he found his head grabbed by a clawed hand.

The book the stranger was reading finally hit the ground.

"Do you always skewer people who read your books?" The man asked, as the blades in his chest shattered and fell.

"The door was locked." Kirei said dumbly. "The door was locked, and I found a stranger in my room."

The man smiled. "Fair enough." He released his grip on Kirei's head, and while he stood back up his hand returned to normal.

"You're a Servant." Kirei said, hiding his runes under his sleeve.

"Berserker. And I was wondering if I could rent out some rooms for my work."

Kirei frowned. "The Church cannot aid Servants during the Holy Grail War. We are impartial mediators."

Berserker smirked. "Yet they're aiding you, Master of Assassin."

Kirei felt cold. He called his servant back.

"Not much point calling him. Some of my soldiers are keeping him occupied. I highly doubt they'll kill him, but they should keep him busy." He sat down on the couch. "Besides, as your own pathetic attempt showed, I'm far tougher than I look. So here's your options. Either you can lend me some rooms, and I'll let you live till the end of the war; or I can kill you, your Servant, and anyone else living in the church, and **take** the rooms I want. Either way, I win."

"What do you want with the rooms?"

Berserker looked focused, and Assassin informed him that the monsters he was fighting were pulling back and eating their dead. "To make more of my soldiers. Assassin was better than I had… expected. And I need to work on my cure."

"Your cure?"

"My physiology allows me to create a serum that can improve Humanity. Make them stronger, tougher, smarter, healthier. It can make everyone happier."

"Happiness is a sinful thing."

Berserker looked at him for a while, before smiling. "Or maybe, your happiness is sinful. Maybe you get off on things like pain and suffering."

"Enough. Why can't you do this at your own base?"

"The process was too disturbing for my master. Too much like the Crest Worms." He stood up and headed for the door. "I'll go and have my pick. I'll leave you some cash and directions when I find them." He turned into a liquid before slurping under the door. When Kirei opened the door not long afterwards, there was no sign of the Servant.

He sat down in his room, and pondered what Berserker meant by **his** happiness was a sin.

**(9:00am Tuesday, Fuyuki River)**

"Whoa." Waver whispered. He was looking down at a massive crater caused by the meteor last night. The devastation was unbelievable.

"Don't know what we'll find her Sir." An African-American soldier said as he kept an eye out for trouble. "Anything hit by that would be nothing but ash."

"Maybe, Sergeant Johnson. But I have to gather information. We still don't know who did this." Waver started heading for the sewer entrance, a police cap over his head. He just hoped that Johnson's commanding aura could get them inside.

"Well, meteors seem like something strong mages could do. Maybe it was Caster."

"Something feels… off. I know it's just a gut feeling but…"

"Take it easy, Sir. Gut feelings have saved me more times than I can count. If you don't use it every so often, it becomes useless." Johnson shrugged. "Besides, you don't get this kind of police action over 'nothing'."

Waver smiled as they got to the entrance. Two police officers moved to stop them, but something about the older guy stopped them. He looked like someone who belonged there. They snapped to attention, unconsciously giving an American salute. As Waver and Johnson stepped into the large room, Waver almost lost his lunch.

There were corpses piled in a heap in the center of the room. Most of them were bits and pieces, like something massive had taken bites out of them. Johnson took off his hat and had a moment of silence for the dead. Then he walked purposely towards a guy with a notebook. Waver hurried on after him.

"Well?" Johnson asked the guy. He barely looked older than Waver, and jumped to attention. "Don't just stand there with your pants round your feet. Tell me what the hell happened here.

"Y-y-yes sir." The kid stammered. He opened his notebook and started reading. "Uh well, around 9:50pm last night, a large number of kids were led into the Police Station by a Mr Kariya Matou and Miss Rin Tohsaka. According to them they had found these kids chained up in this room here by some guy in a black robe and a white mask. The kids claimed that Mr Matou was with someone named Mercer, who had 'kicked a monster through that wall there.'" He pointed to a hole in the wall over by another entrance. "The kids also said that the robed-man was actually a 'blob monster with a large three-headed monster that ate everyone'. Furthermore, they were rescued by 'a hooded woman who conjured weapons and armour from magic and beat up the monsters'. She called herself 'The Fateless One'." The kid closed his notebook. "We've found corpses, cracks and some holes around the place, but no sign of the blob, the monsters, or the woman. Honestly, it sounds like a crazy guy with a big dog and a gang. Must've high-tailed it when Mr Matou rescued the kids."

Johnson nodded. "That'll be all. Dismissed." The kid left, while Waver and Johnson looked for somewhere quiet. "This is Sargent Johnson, requesting evac to the Dawn." He said to a radio.

"Understood Johnson." Cortana replied as the Dawn's airlock appeared in the wall. "Welcome back."

**(9:10am, Forward Unto Dawn)**

"…So from the intel we recovered, it sounded like another servant showed up, and something else killed it and its monsters." Waver summed up what he had learned Rider and Cortana.

"A three-headed dog." Johnson said. "Sounds like Cerberus. Can't be too many Servants who could've accessed that."

"Normally yes." Cortana replied. "But none of the servants summoned so far have anything to do with this world. Not to mention that I managed to hack the initial police sketch of 'Cerberus'." An image of a strange thing showed up on screen. "definitely not normal."

"Cortana." Rider said. "Bring up the footage from last night."

"Certainly." A still image of Fuyuki City appeared on the table. It zoomed into the river, right where it would soon become a crater. The image was still blurry when two people ran out the sewer entrance. Cortana paused the footage. "Given what was reported, the first person must be this blob thing, while the second would have to be this 'Fateless One'." The footage continued, right up to the point where a meteor slammed into the blob.

"Well looks like we don't need to worry about the blob anymore." Johnson said.

"Yeah but where did he come from? There are already all 7 servants, so how could there be two more running around?" Waver said, holding his head like it was going to explode. "None of this makes any sense!"

Rider placed a hand on Waver's shoulder. "Calm down Sir. We'll think of something. You can't lose your head in the face of unexpected problems. You just need to adapt to them."

Waver sighed. "Thanks for that Rider."

**(9:20am, Fuyuki School)**

Archer sighed. After Master Tohsaka heard what Rin did, he had arranged Archer to watch over her when she went to school. So far it was dull, dull, dull. He was using the Vaporiser to watch her, while Clank kept an eye out for anything sneaking up on them. During one of the times he stopped to look elsewhere, one of Caster's Djinn floated around. They looked over the branch they were resting in to see him and his master below, waving at them.

"Oh for the love of…" Archer sighed. "Really? You want a rematch now of all times?"

"Not really." Caster called back. "We're having a dinner party and we wanted to invite you and the others."

Archer looked at Clank in surprise before answering. "The others? You're inviting all the servants? What kind of party is this?"

"Well, it's a bit of a mix. We talk about our wishes and try to negotiate, we have some time to assess each other, and Rider and his master have something to tell everyone. We've already invited Saber, Lancer, Assassin, even Berserker."

Archer knew he had to accept. As unlikely as it could be, if they could negotiate then he'd go for it. Besides, he could learn something by going.

"Alright."

Caster smiled. "Great! Meet us at the Hyatt Establishment. Master Kayneth says someone like Tohsaka would where that is."

"I'd love to go." A multi-layered voice said.

Archer and Caster turned around and saw a woman standing beneath Archer's tree. She was fully covered by track-pants and a sweatshirt. They couldn't tell anything about her.

"I am Servant Avenger." She said. "And I have news to tell as well."

**(2:30pm, Unknown)**

The Hooded Man growled. His Servants were beaten somehow, despite the cards prediction. He had tried it again, and it still said that he would win. No matter. Perhaps their loss was meant to be a part of his victory.

Besides, they managed to gather more than enough mana for his next phase. Once he summoned the monsters, nothing they did would stop him.

His victory was all but assured.

**And there you go. Sargent Johnson is with Rider. The other should be wary.**

**Now, if anyone has noticed a problem with the time when Berserker talks to Kirei, he can create clones of himself at any time if he has enough biomass. And with Kariya busy at the moment, it was a good time to set up shop. And Arakune is weaker because he isn't a true servant. That's why he got beaten so easily.**

**Finally, here is Avenger's Servant Stats. Enjoy.**

Avenger

Name: Fateless One

Series: Kingdom of Amalur: Reckoning

Master: N/A

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Strength: C

Endurance: C

Agility: C

Magical Power: C

Good Luck: C

Noble Phantasm: C

Class Skills:

Independent Action (EX)

The Servant can remain in this world indefinitely, and can utilise all Noble Phantasms without outside mana.

_As the Fateless One can draw upon fate energy, she can use it to sustain herself._

Item Construction (A)

Item Construction is the skill to manufacture magical items. At this rank Avenger can make many powerful potions, weapons and armour.

_The Fateless One has experience as a master blacksmith and alchemist._

Magic Resistance (A)

Magic Resistance grants protection against magical effects. Differently from the Resistance effect that merely rejects prana, this ability cancels the spells altogether. Important to note that the term "verse" seen below refers to a set of three lines. Thus, a chant of two verses is equivalent to a Six-Line incantation. Cancel spells of A-Rank or below. In practice, the Servant is untouchable to modern magi, so it would not be an exaggeration to title the Servant a "Magus Killer".

_Due to the inherent power of the mage classes, she is resistant to most magic._

Presence Concealment (A+)

Presence Concealment is the capacity to hide one's presence as a Servant. It is a common skill to the Assassin class. At this rank it is possible to disappear completely and become almost impossible to be detected. However, efficiency will decrease once preparations to attack are taken.

_The Fateless One has spent time as an assassin, learning how to be one with the shadows._

Personal Skills:

Counter Hero (B)

Counter Hero imposes a parameter down effect upon any 'Hero' that the Servant faces in combat. A class ability inherent to Servants of the Saver class. At this level Avenger induces an effective 2-rank parameter reduction against any opponent that can be classified as a 'Hero.' The parameter-down effect is reduced by one rank in the circumstance that the opponent is of the 'Antihero' category.

_Her fateless nature allows her to draw upon the opponent's strength and use it to fight against them._

Expert of Many Specializations (A+)

Expert of Many Specializations is access to and use of many expert skills. At this level once Avenger sees something done she can achieve it, with higher success rates per try. Note that this is limited to things she is actually capable of.

_Due to being fateless, she can change what she is skilled at in a moment's notice, enabling her to learn many things._

High-Speed Divine Words (A)

High-Speed Divine Words is the power to activate Thaumaturgy without the use of Magic Circuits. The language of the Age of Gods, back when words played a heavy role in spellcasting. As such, it is power long lost by modern magi. At this level High-Thaumaturgy-level Magecraft can be cast at the speed of Single-Action spells.

High-Speed Incantation (A)

High-Speed Incantation is the capacity to recite spells at high speeds.

_The Fateless One is able to cast spells in a moment's notice, switching between spells and melee._

Pioneer of the Stars (EX)

Pioneer of the Stars is the unique Skill given to heroes that became turning points in the human history. All difficult voyages and challenges which are considered "impossible" turn into "events that can be realized".

_The Fateless One changed Amalur irreversibly by killing Tirnoch, unsealing the fate of everyone._

Noble Phantasms:

Master of All

Fateless changes her skill and stats, with Warrior having higher Strength and Endurance, Rogue having higher Agility and Luck, and Mage having higher Magic and Noble Phantasm.

Unbound by Fate (Anti-Unit to Anti-Group)

Unleashing a wave of mana, Fateless slows time for her and does increased damage. Literally beating people with their fate.


	8. Peace and War

**Hey there fans. New chapter and new stories. I think that for a first story this isn't going too bad.**

**This may seem like a chapter of talking, but it's got real impressive stuff at the end. This takes over for the Einzbern Castle drinking scene from the anime.**

**Enjoy.**

Chapter 8: Peace and War

**(7:00pm, Hyatt Establishment)**

It had taken a bit of effort, but under Kayneth's directions Caster managed to hypnotise all the waiters in the restaurant. He didn't like doing it, but it was either that or wipe their minds afterwards and this was easier. Soon, all the servants had arrived, even the mysterious Avenger. The masters too had arrived, given how the church had arranged for this meeting. A glazed-over Matrie d' led them to a private room, with their finest wine and menus. After ordering their meals and settling down, they finally got down to business.

"Right then." Risei began from the head of the table. "I'm sure you're all aware of the recent kidnappings and the… meteor that fell." Avenger gave a girlish giggle at the vein throbbing on his forehead. "Unusual Servants, outside of the seven, have been summoned into this war. As Avenger here was one of these Servants, I leave it to her to answer our questions." Everyone turned to look at the Servant, who had removed her hood to reveal a glowing purple face.

"Thank you Sir." She began. "I'm afraid I can't answer all your questions, as there are thing even I don't know. I was summoned inside a house with dead people inside."

"Was one a red-haired man missing a hand?" Caster asked, suddenly serious.

Avenger nodded. "I have no need for a master, as Fate itself sustains me. I was exploring the city when I found a young Magus girl travelling through the streets last night. I remembered the news about kidnappings, and I followed her to protect her. She tracked down someone she knew to the sewers, where she came across a monster."

Tokiomi stood up and faced her. "The little girl was my daughter, Rin. She was looking for her friend." He bowed to her. "I thank you for protecting her last night."

"We hacked into the Police databanks and found a sketch of the beast." Waver added. "Since it had three heads, we decided to call it Cerberus."

"I originally pegged it for another Master-less Servant, feasting on the people to survive. That was until I was ambushed by dozens of monsters, led by a blob thing. They were too numerous to be an accident, making me think a master summoned one or all. I killed them, before chasing the blob outside. I tried to interrogate it and it refused. So I killed it before it could escape."

"One of Berserker's familiars spotted Rin entering the sewers, and fetched us." Kariya continued. "It was a good thing we did, as some must've escaped from your assault. We got the children out, and led them to the local police."

Berserker stood up. "I managed to get some of their knowledge before they faded." He shape-shifted into a man in a black robe. "Unfortunately, I only have what they saw and heard to work on." He spoke in a raspy voice that had originally been weedy, like he smoked a lot.

"I recognise his voice." Kayneth added. "Viggato Soulstein. A seventh-generation Magus, He's even more arrogant than I am." Lancer snorted. "I am arrogant because I am the strongest Magus Master here. Viggato is weaker, but acts like he surpasses me. He would know about the Holy Grail, and see not being chosen as a Master as the gravest of insults."

"But what can he do about it?" Irisviel asked. "The Grail wouldn't just choose another master because he threw a tantrum."

"The Blob kept referring to how it was their fate to win. It could be that he **was** meant to be a master, and I messed everything up."

"But how?" Waver asked. "If he was fated to enter, then Fate should've known about you."

Avenger shook her head. "I am Fateless. When I was alive, Fates set in stone for generations were undone by my presence alone. A friend who foretold he would die leading me to an important treasure was terrified when he survived with my help. An immortal army fated to destroy the world fell before me. I even killed the source of Fate itself, a cruel monster who used me to free herself."

Everyone was shocked. She had actually killed Fate itself? How was that possible? Waver even said that out loud.

"Fateweavers could see the fate of things around me, but I could subvert those fates. Tirnoch used the fate of my actions to free herself, but she couldn't see if she could win against me. She was so used to making fates true, that she never considered that she could die."

"So your presence has changed the War completely." Saber summed things up. "We have an arrogant Magus who has gone insane with rejection, who would let the world burn if it meant he would win. He is supposedly fated to win outright, but you just being in the War means he could just as easily lose."

"Pretty much."

"Hmph. I've never really placed much in fates. I'd rather make my own."

Tokiomi interrupted them. "Father Risei. Given that Soulstein shows a blatant disregard for the rules of secrecy, I propose that we have a cease-fire until the crisis is averted."

"What's the matter?" Berserker smirked. "Afraid of getting knocked off by a nobody?" Tokiomi didn't rise to the bait.

"Enough." Risei said. "Tohsaka is right. Soulstein seems willing to win no matter the cost. His Servants alone killed scores of people. And if the War causes too much collateral damage, then they will step in and stop everyone. It is in all our best interests to put a stop to him before things get worse."

"I can get my people and familiars watching all forms of passage in and out of the city." Berserker volunteered.

"My systems have hacked the local satellites and cameras." Rider stated. "We can watch him that way."

"My Djinn can keep an eye out too." Caster said. "If I can stop a monster like him, I'll do anything."

Risei nodded. "Berserker, could your people be bought off?"

Berserker laughed. "My men are completely loyal to me. For them, my gratitude is all the currency they need."

"How soon can you organise them?"

Berserker seemed to concentrate, while Caster's Djinn appeared and floated out the windows. "Done." They said in unison. Rider merely nodded. By now, the food they had ordered had finally arrived. Those who wore helmets removed them to eat. Assassin hadn't ordered anything, and so stayed by the wall he was standing by.

Saber and Rider looked strange without their helmets, both young and old, and skin so pale it was white. But Archer's appearance was the strangest. He was definitely some kind of cat-person, with yellow fur and brown stripes. His green eyes were huge, giving a rather cute look.

"Aww." Irisviel squealed. "Archer looks adorable."

Archer blushed through his fur. "Thank you ma'am." The servants and masters were soon tucking into their well-made meals before they started talking again.

"Right then." Caster said. "As I mentioned when I gathered you all together, we will also be talking about what our wish is, and see if we can accomplish it non-violently." Everyone rolled their eyes at his naivety. "Saber, do you want to start?"

Saber took a bite out of what was now frozen steak, before speaking. "My world is constantly at war. As soon as one war is finished, another takes its place. Just recently in the Human Alliance, a lord who despised the Orcs has begun working towards peace with them, while a Mage who had always asked for peace now wants them dead. There is constant infighting amongst the empires, as every species places themselves first."

"The only truly unified empire is The Scourge. Because they are all undead, they completely obey their king." He pointed his thumb at himself, as if there was any doubt who that was. "True, years ago a large group broke free while my predecessor was weakened, but I will bring them back into the fold just like all the others."

"Given that you're here, I'm guessing someone didn't like your empire." Berserker said.

"They didn't. But they still have to keep my empire alive. For without a Lich King to command them, The Scourge would start a rampage that would slaughter the world."

"So your wish is to return to reclaim your empire?" Archer asked him. Saber nodded, while Caster, Archer and Rider looked at him suspiciously. "And what if they **don't** want to join your Empire of Undead?"

"They will all join. One way, or another."

"Well." Lancer said as she ripped a chunk out of her leg-of-lamb. "Guess I'm next. And I want to be back with Vanille. And my friends."

"Were you guys close?" Caster asked.

"Very. We worked together through thick and thin to tell the Fal'Cie what they could do with their plan. In the end, me and Vanille gave our lives to save everyone else. We weren't really dead, but we weren't alive."

Caster smiled. He remembered all the adventures he got up to with his friends. How they too save the world from disaster. "That is a very noble goal, Lancer."

"Noble, but selfish." Berserker added.

Lancer gave him a glare. "Yeah? And what's your wish?"

"I don't have one. I can do all my work as a Servant."

"And your work is?"

"Improve the human race. Unite them into a hive mind. Pretty much what Saber's doing, but everyone will be alive."

"Perhaps we could work together." Saber said, approval written all over his face. Berserker raised his glass in acknowledgement.

"What do you wish for, Archer?" Irisviel asked the alien.

"Well, I want to go back home. See, I never died." Everyone stared at him in shock. Heroic Spirits **had** to be dead to be summoned. It was a fundamental rule of the War. "Clank and I were investigating a strange energy source with the Great Clock. The Clock was made to help stabilise time after it was broken. I guess the energy was the summoning ritual and it must've mixed with the Clock's energy, cause we ended up about ten years before we left."

"So even if you could find your home, you'd be arriving early." Irisviel summed up. Her heart ached for him. He might actually die in this war, and he hadn't even wanted to be here.

"If the Great Clock controls time," Rider asked. "Couldn't you just find it and return to your time?"

Archer shook his head. "The Clock doesn't control time. It just stabilises it. It's like a stich in time, keeping it working right. Any attempt to use it to travel through time could unmake everything."

Everyone was silent for a time, until Rider spoke up. "My wish is to become a guardian of Humanity."

"A guardian?" Waver asked.

"Whenever something threatens Mankind, I want to be there to protect it. That was my duty in the UNSC, and it's what I'm best at."

"Is that what **you** want, Cortana?"

"Affirmative." She said, appearing on the table fully clothed. "As a smart AI, I am always at risk of going rampant. It's where I literally **think** myself to death. Normally I would only live for seven years before I die. By being a Guardian Spirit, I will always be around."

"I see." Berserker said. To an immortal like him, who becomes stronger the more he learned, such a thing seemed preposterous. He turned to Caster. "And what does our _valiant____hero_ want with the Grail?"

Caster shrugged. "Nothing. I died of old age. I had everything I wanted. A loving family, a strong kid, a beautiful wife. If I had to wish for something it would be starting a new life in this world."

"I too, would wish to start a new life." Avenger said. "I wish to free this world from Fate. To have the ability to choose your future. That is my wish."

Everyone turned to look at Assassin, who seemed to squirm before them.

"Challenge accepted." He replied.

Saber chuckled. "So you wish to face a challenge? I'm certain you'll find one right here."

"So, Caster." Berserker said. "It seems that few of us can gain our wish without the Grail. The war will go on."

"I know." Caster said, looking very serious. "But I had hoped that we could've avoided it."

**(8:00pm, Fuyuki River)**

Viggato stood by the river, chanting an ancient spell and drawing in all the mana his Servants had harvested. Soon, his monsters will rampage through the city, seeking the false Masters and claiming the Grail for him. He chanted louder and louder, until all the sheep around him looked up at him in alarm. Dark circles formed in the river, and it bubble and boiled as the magic created the flesh of the monsters. His final lines enchanted them with the healing and shielding Fate had granted them. The circles glowed purple as the monsters sprung up. The sheep screamed.

And Viggato cackled.

**(8:15pm, Hyatt Establishment)**

Everyone heard people screaming outside. They rushed outside, helmets back on, weapons in hand. And stopped when they reached the edge of the river.

Standing before them were seven massive monsters, each one as large as a building. Many of them had tentacles flailing around, some had massive hands, and all had large gnashing teeth. They looked as though they were born from nightmares.

The Servants weren't impressed.

"Meh. I've seen bigger." Archer said.

"The Forgotten One was far more hideous than that." Saber noted.

"They look like the Gravemind. Permission to hit them with an orbital bombardment." Rider asked Waver.

"You call that a beastie?" Lancer scoffed. "Should've brought in an Adamantoise."

"Reminds me of my kids." Berserker said.

"The Doom Dragon was bigger." Said Caster.

"Destroyer worse." Assassin noted.

"Tirnoch was bigger." Avenger taunted. "And uglier."

"SILENCE" Viggato shouted, angry that they weren't cowering before his monsters. "You may laugh and taunt, but soon you will all be begging for forgiveness. All will be begging for forgiveness."

Assassin raised his rifle, and blasted a tentacle of one of the monsters. The tentacle regrew in moments. Viggato laughed.

"You see? Fate is shielding them. Your attacks are useless against them!"

"Translation, Fate-girl?" Archer asked Avenger.

"He is using the power of Fate to shield them." She replied. "Everyone, target one monster each. I will leave them vulnerable to your strikes."

Everyone nodded, then rushed off to face a monster. Avenger concentrated, ignoring Viggato's raving, and drew in the fate energy surrounding the beasts.

She hoped she could hold it long enough.

**(Saber)**

Saber rushed the beast on Invincible, freezing the river before them. The beast stopped glowing, and Saber knew he had to strike quickly.

"**Death Coil"** He roared, firing necromantic energy from his sword. It flew towards the creature, and struck it's right arm. Instantly, the arm rotted away, falling into the river as the rot and disease spread down its side. It swung its other hand at Saber, but Invincible dodged, and Saber caused ice to trap its hand. Before it could pull it free, he jumped and focused his energy into the sword.

"**Frostmourne Hungers"** He yelled as he stabbed the creature in the chest. Ice and rot spread up the beast like wildfire. It screamed as the mana keeping it alive was drawn into Saber. The beast fell apart around him, smashing through and against the ice. Invincible caught Saber as he fell, charging back towards the shore as the ice fell apart.

He smirked. This battle will help him greatly in the coming fights.

**(Archer)**

Tokiomi looked at the monster in disgust. Viggato was revealing magic to the entire world. There was no way the populace could ignore something like this.

"You have a weapon that can kill this… thing?" He asked Archer. Archer laughed before materialising a small golden pistol. Its barrel was made of glass, but it waved, like it was made of air.

"Abomination!" Archer shouted, the beast walking towards him. He smirked. "Meet Fred."

And he fired the pistol.

A small black orb bounced through the air before heading above the beast. A massive portal opened up, before large tentacles reached through and grabbed it round the middle. It struggled before more reached down to it, and it made an 'uh-oh' noise before being pulled through the portal.

Archer blew out the barrel before holstering the pistol.

Tokiomi merely hoped he never saw 'Fred' again.

**(Lancer)**

Lancer laughed, before pulling out the crystal. **"Come Forth, Master of the Rift"** She shouted before throwing it into the air. A dark circle and runes appeared in the air, before Bahamut flew out of it. Lancer hopped on as he passed, before flying towards the beast. Tentacles lashed out at them, but Bahamut dodged them all, unleashing lightning at it. Tentacles fell off with each strike, leaving it angrier and angrier. As Bahamut slashed with his wings, Lancer decided to finish it.

"**Megaflare"** She told Bahamut, and he charged a dark orb from his mouth. The sky seemed to get darker from the orb, then it slammed into the beast before collapsing in on itself. Most of the beast was pulled through, leaving the rest to fade away in a burst of mana. Lancer laughed as she flew back to land.

**(Rider)**

Waver wanted to whimper. He wanted to cry. As insane as Viggato was, he was still stronger than him. He could kill him with ease.

But he had to be strong. To prove himself to Rider.

Rider had pulled out a weird pistol thing with a camera on top. Waver was going to ask what it does, when a red laser pointed at the beast.

"Target confirmed, Chief." Cortana said as a red ring of lasers closed in on it. "MAC blast ready. Firing in 3…2…1."

A massive blast fell from the sky right into the beast, causing burnt flesh to fly away from it. Those parts faded away as another blast slammed into the remains. Waver stood surprised as Rider spoke.

"Kill Confirmed."

**(Berserker)**

Viggato grounded his teeth in anger. How could things be going wrong? Four of his beasts were dead, and they hadn't even suffered a scratch. But he **won't lose**. He gave a forceful laugh.

"And what can a mere Berserker do against my Beasts of Destruction?"

Berserker smiled. "You have no idea what I can do. So let me educate you. Your beasts are made of biomass."

Tentacles fired out of Berserker, slamming into the beast as he started getting bigger and more inhuman.

"And I consume biomass."

The beast screamed as he got smaller. His arms shrunk as they became red-and-black tendrils. He tried to pull away, but Berserker had already hijacked its legs.

"I am a god among viruses." He literally growled. "I can make the Black Plague look like the common cold." There was nothing left of the beast. He turned back into his human form.

"And you are nothing compared to me."

**(Caster)**

Caster looked grim as he got to the riverbank. He could sense that they had more mana that they should. Viggato had killed all those people to power these things.

He will put a stop to him.

"**Come Forth, Flint, Sap, Bane, Ground."** He yelled. Four Venus Djinn appeared and headed for the beast. Three of them slammed into it, gouging out holes and cuts while the forth continued. When Ground hit it, the beast couldn't move a muscle.

"**I Summon Thee, Judgment"** A Reality Marble formed. Sola gasped when she saw the knight flying overhead. He wore majestic blue armour, with horns on his helmet and white wings behind him. One hand held a glowing sword, while the other held a golden shield shaped like a lion's face. The lion mouth opened and a blue orb formed. Judgment fired the orb at the beast, where the result was immense.

The orb expanded into a massive explosion. The ground shook and the wind thundered. The Reality Marble faded, taking the beast's remains with it.

"That was for the innocents you killed, you bastard." Caster growled, tears falling down his cheeks.

**(Assassin)**

Viggato was frothing with anger and fear. nonononoNO! He was supposed to win! Fate said he would win! How could they still be alive?

"No Assassin could beat my magnificent beast." He laughed, though everyone could hear the fear in it. The beast was close enough to slam his fist down on Assassin. Viggato laughed even more at that. Yes! He killed one! He laughed and laughed and laughed.

Until the beast's head exploded.

Everyone looked over to the right to see Assassin standing, his rifle smoking.

Viggato started screaming. He turned to run, but he was grabbed by Bahamut.

"Put me down, Servant!" He screamed. "I am a Magus! I am your Master!"

Lancer looked at everyone else to see them nodding. "Sure thing, _Master_."

What Viggato hadn't noticed, was that they were now a mile above the ground.

He fell, screaming all the way.

**So much for Viggato. I made him up solely to have a massive fight with monsters and show how powerful the Servants were. If they seem weak, well then that's because these heroes have fought and killed massive creatures by themselves.**

**Next chapter, we get back to some good old fashioned Servant fights.**


	9. Your Saber is in Another Castle

**Here is the next chapter. We are finally going to see some Servant vs Servant fights.**

Chapter 9: Your Saber Is In another Castle

**(10:00am Wednesday, Fuyuki Forest)**

Waver chowed down on some Japanese food in a clearing deep in the forest. It was a bright and wonderful day, sitting there with a picnic. The birds were chirping in the trees and the quiet gave Waver time to think things over and contemplate.

Like the fact this meal wasn't actually that good.

"Can't believe you nearly ran out of mana, Rider." He grumbled. "You'd think you'd have better track of something like that."

"Apologies, Sir." Rider's voice came from thin air. He was in spirit form to minimise the amount of mana needed to maintain his form. "I made a decision to use two MAC blasts and it was more taxing than I expected. It won't happen again."

"Yeah, well. I'm not blaming you for the blasts. Better safe than sorry right?" He gulped down a juice box before continuing. "But you could've used some of my mana too, you know."

"With all due respect, there was no sign we needed any mana from you." Cortana said. "It seemed like a threat to your life if we used your mana."

"You won't be able to protect me if you run out." Waver replied as he grabbed his sleeping bag. "At least by being on top of a ley-line we can recharge you faster. I'll sleep here all day if I have to."

"Thank you Sir." Rider merely said. Waver climbed into the bag before asking Rider what their plan would be.

"Though Viggato's attack was a large loss-of-life and a threat to the entire world, it allowed us to see some of the abilities of other servants. Archer, Caster and Berserker seemed the most dangerous, but there are weaknesses we can exploit."

"Like what?" Waver really wanted to know. Archer seemed to have a weapon for all scenarios, Caster used Reality Marbles like they were nothing, and Berserker had just eaten the monster.

"We've had previous experience fighting creatures like Berserker before. The key is to not let up until they are completely destroyed. Fire works best for that. Caster has powerful spells, but his armour is weak. We just have to get in close and not give him time to heal or counterattack. Archer would be most problematic. I'll have to get close, break his armour and hope my luck hold out."

Waver yawned. With Rider drawing on his mana now, he was feeling really tired. As he fell asleep, he heard Rider promise to keep watch.

**(Unknown)**

_Waver opened his eyes again. Instead of being in the forest, he was in a large metal room. Around him were children, a mixture of boys and girl, all around 6 years old. They were quiet for the most part, though some were asking about where they were. A door at the far end opened, and an old lady walked through. Once she had their attention, she explained what was happening._

_They were to be part of a 'Spartan' project, how they would be the protectors of the Earth and all her colonies. The lady, Dr. Halsey, had chosen them because they were the best of their age. The next day, they were given military uniforms and sent out to train with Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez. Waver stayed near one boy, whose name badge called him 'John-117'. This boy was determined, doing everything as best as he could. He made friends with two other kids called Kelly-087 and Samuel-034._

_Soon, when they were 8, they were dropped off in a massive forest and told to return to the 'Pelican'. John led the group, even ambushing soldiers who had been guarding the jet. He managed to get everyone back home, and was made leader of the whole group._

_When he was 14, he was placed into a medical chamber. There machines did surgery on him and injected strange liquids into his system. John and his team looked much older, as though they were 18 instead. One day, when John was at a gym, four other soldiers entered the room. John insulted them and a nearby sergeant had them all enter a boxing ring. Two men died in the ring while the other two were severely injured._

_Years later, John and his friends were informed about a massacre that happened on 'Harvest'. Surprising Waver, Harvest was actually another planet. There, John found aliens calling themselves 'The Covenant'. The Spartans escaped, but Samuel had to stay behind, and blew up the alien vessel. After that, the Spartans were given new armour, and John wore a familiar-looking olive armour._

"_So that's Rider." Waver thought to himself. "Man, he wasn't kidding about his life. I would've died from that."_

_John kept fighting the aliens, and even with loss of life the Spartans just kept winning. Their biggest loss was when the Covenant attacked the Spartan's home, Reach. Only a few Spartans managed to escape, including John, who 'jumped' in random directions._

_John's ship, The 'Pillar of Autumn', arrived outside a massive ring object. An attack from The Covenant forced the Autumn to crash land on the ring, which was big enough to have its own land. John thought his way through all kinds of obstacles aiding other survivors, and they thought they could stop the Covenant._

_Until they discovered the Flood._

_An army of undead…things, the Flood kept spreading across the Halo, infecting humans and aliens alike. A new ally called 343 Guilty Spark asked John to activate the Halo. He nearly did before Cortana informed him that the Halo would wipe-out all life within hundreds of thousands of light-years. After disabling the Halo for a time, John managed to find the Autumn and escaped the ring-world, but not without detonating it. He gathered some survivors, and headed back to Earth Space._

_Not long afterwards, the Covenant attacked Earth. The UNSC managed to drive them off, and followed them to another Halo. There, John met with a Covenant Elite called the Arbiter, and The Gravemind._

_The Gravemind was a 'king' of the Flood, and allied with John to stop the ring from firing. The Arbiter helped, as his people were being culled by the Covenant. They stopped the Halo, but were informed by Guilty Spark that the Ark was ready to activate __**all**__ the Halos. John was sent to the Covenant capital, High Charity, to stop the Covenant's plan. He followed back to Earth, but had to leave Cortana behind._

_John returned to Earth, where he and the Arbiter worked together to fight the Covenant and follow them to the Ark. They were side-tracked when the Flood started invading Earth, and only with the help of the Elite fleet did they stop them. After battling the Covenant on the Ark, losing friends, and killing the Prophet of Truth, The Gravemind turned on them. He had used High Charity and Cortana to follow everyone to the Ark. Luckily, John saved Cortana and detonated High Charity. The Ark had made another Halo ring to replace the first one, and John used it to destroy the Flood. Because of its half-completed state, the firing caused it to explode, damaging or destroying the Ark. Guilty Sparks turned against them, leading John to destroy him. John and the Arbiter made it back to the ship, the Dawn, but they were separated by the closing wormhole. John and Cortana floated through space for a long time, before ending up at Requiem. They found remnants of the Covenant, strange robots, and finally The Diadact. He was an hero of the Forerunners, but wanted to exterminate Humanity. A human vessel, The Infinity, had arrived and was hacked by the Diadact. He travelled to Earth-space, with John as an unwitting passenger, where he found a weapon called the Composer. The Diadact got hold of it, but humanity gave John the means to breach his ship. After a gruelling fight, John and Cortana immobilised him long enough to detonate a nuke. Though none of them survived it, John went knowing he had saved Humanity from an alien threat._

**(8:00pm, Einzbern Castle)**

Kayneth and Lancer were standing on the road leading to the Castle. It had taken a bit, but they had discovered where Saber had his base.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Lancer asked Kayneth. "You're a bit **hand**icapped at the moment."

"Really? Handicapped?" Kayneth retorted. "No magic can bring back my hand. And we still need to pay back Saber for that attack. And Emiya for blowing up our first base."

"Alright, but just remember. Emiya didn't act like you thought he would the first time. Doubt he'll do so this time either."

"Just keep Saber distracted. He'll probably have his master flee, leaving Emiya all alone."

"Besides." He continued as he pulled a test-tube of mercury out of his pocket. "I am most definitely **not** defenceless. **Fervor, mei sanguis.**" He uncorked the test-tube, pouring out the mercury and letting it writhe on the ground.

"Our victory is assured."

**(Inside the Castle)**

Everyone was lazing about in the castle dining room. Emiya and Maiya were going over new strategies for enemy Servants, while Irisviel and Saber were sitting on the couch. As promised, Saber refused to work or speak to Emiya, letting Irisviel act as a mediator between the two. He started, standing up while Irisviel gasped.

"We have company." They said as Saber's armour materialised. Emiya grabbed his pistols as Maiya grabbed Irisviel.

"Maiya, head out the secret passage as we agreed." Emiya was saying as they ran for the entranceway. "Saber and I will distract the enemy while you both make your escape." Maiya nodded as she dragged Irisviel down a side passage. Emiya hid behind a hallway, while Saber stood to one side of the main door. Something strong blasted the doors off their hinges, buffeting Saber as he stepped back. El-Melloi stepped through the ruined doorway, a floating silvery ball on his right, and Lancer on his left. Saber attempted to kill him, but the ball changed shape, intercepting his blade. It did not stop it, but it did slow it down enough for Lancer to block it. El-Melloi walked forward as the two Servants jumped outside.

"Hello Kiritsugu Emiya." He said. "Now that the War is back on track, I need to repay you for all the damage and cost you have caused me." The ball grew a spike, piercing the hallway Emiya hid behind. As Kayneth walked forward, his foot pulled on a string and the statues decorating the entranceway exploded. Dozens of large ball bearing shattered the walls as they converged on him. When the smoke cleared though, the silver ball surrounded him, the surface smoothing over. It moved away and left him standing in the room unharmed.

"Mechanical traps of all things." He chuckled, before looking serious. "Have you truly fallen so low, Emiya? Very well, this is no longer a duel but an extermination by me, the ninth patriarch of the Archibald family." He looked down the hall Emiya had been in, but found nothing. No matter. "Volumen, find him." The ball sprouted tendrils, which moved down the hallway and probing rooms.

Emiya will not escape.

**(**/*\**)**

Emiya headed back to the dining room, accessing the castle's security cameras to check if Maiya and Iri had escaped. Seeing them nowhere, he moved to head out, when he noticed mercury flowing through the keyhole of the door.

"I see. Automated probes." A massive mercury blade sliced through the table and floor in the blink of an eye, cutting a circle through both. Four tentacles grabbed hold, lifting El-Melloi up.

"I found you. Pathetic rat." Emiya opened fire, only for the mercury to block all his bullets. He tried firing from a different position, but that was useless too. The mercury lowered as El-Melloi looked smug. "Now skulk." He said as four tendrils aimed for him.

"**Time Alter: Double Accelerate."** Emiya casted, the world moving slower as he jumped down the hole El-Melloi made. As the tendril impacted the ground, Kayneth was surprised to see that Emiya had disappeared. "Oh." As he realised. "He manipulated the flow of time to greatly accelerate himself by using his own body as a Reality Marble. It seems he uses a little magic after all. Still, only a miserable little coward would depend on tricks after being trained as a mage. Perhaps dying will teach him his place." He dropped down the hole, with Volumen close behind.

Emiya will not escape.

**(Castle Entrance)**

Saber and Lancer clashed again and again, like a rerun of their previous fight. Saber now knew that Lancer had to keep the pressure on him to stagger his movements, while Lancer knew to keep her distance when he used his **Frostmourne** Phantasm. Most of the ground was cracked from their blows. But Saber was slowly winning.

Lancer's magic was next to useless against him, while his strikes were surely weakening her. She kept dodging his swings and being pushed back. She was losing, and she knew it.

"Your time amongst the living will soon be over." He said as he struck again. Lancer healed the damage, but her mana wouldn't last forever. Saber chuckled.

Lancer felt uneasy. Bahamut wouldn't be much good if he could get his dragon out. And the strain on Melloi's mana would make it costly for both of them. She was contemplating contacting him and asking for more mana when a shadow appeared. Looking up, she saw some red beast falling through the air at them. They quickly dodged, before getting a better look at it.

It looked like a dog-man of a kind, with a human-like face but with four legs. Claws crunched as teeth gnashed. It charged at Saber, seeing him as a more immediate threat. He slashed at it, but it ignored its wounds and struck him. He flew through the air, his armour clanging from the blow. Lancer thought to help her master, when another one rushed her. She switched to Sentinel, blocking as the beast struck her. She slid back from the force, before going Ravager and shooting spells at it. It burned under Fira, but that only seemed to enrage it. It roared as it charged again, with Lancer quickly cutting its head off. Surprising her, it continued moving until she stabbed it through the chest. Looking over at Saber, she saw that he had frozen half of it, with the other half lying a few feet away. They contemplated fighting each other again, when the flesh moved. It changed into zombies, with a small blade on one arm. Saber and Lancer killed them quickly, but they just reformed again. They heard scuttling and looked down the driveway.

Coming towards them was a small army of the beasts, with zombies amongst them. And at the head of the group was…

"Hey guys." Berserker said, wearing his armour again. "You wouldn't believe the number of graveyards and prisons I had to go through to get enough material for these guys."

"Why are you here, Berserker?" Saber asked, betting it was beating him in a fight.

"Well, I kinda need some more workspace. This castle looks big enough, and I get to kill another Servant. Or two. Win-win for me."

"You really think you and your beasties are a match for us?" Lancer taunted, before turning to face Saber. "We are screwed," She whispered. "Unless we put aside our differences and work together. Can you do that?"

"Only until we slay the bastard." Saber replied.

"Uh, hey" Berserker said. "Enhanced hearing. _Nice bravado, _by the way. Oh, and Bastard? That a bit rude." The army charged forward, roaring and screeching as they hungered for flesh. Saber and Lancer readied themselves for the impact.

**(Castle Forest)**

Irisviel looked back at the castle when she started hearing screeching. It sounded like it came from the front of the castle, impossible to see from their location. The fact that it coincided with a large number of intruders arriving scared her. She sighed, hoping that Kiri would be ok.

"Madam." Maiya interrupted her thoughts. "Please hurry. Rest assured that Saber will be able to deal with Lancer and whatever made those screeches." She moved through the forest, Irisviel not far behind her. Irisviel gasped again as the bounded field was disturbed for a third time. "Madam?" Maiya asked.

"Another intruder has just arrived." Irisviel told her. "They're waiting for us in the direction we're headed. We'll run into them if we go this way."

"Understood. Let's circle around to the north side then." Irisviel gasped yet again.

"The one who is coming is… Kirei Kotomine." Maiya was shocked. Kotomine was one man Kiritsugu didn't want to encounter during the War. He said that he couldn't understand the man, and that scared him. "Maiya, the orders given to you were to protect me from harm, right?"

"Yes. But…"

"But what? We mustn't let him get to Kiritsugu. No matter what we have to do to stop him. Isn't that what you were thinking?"

"Madam. How did you…?"

"What a coincidence. I was thinking the exact same thing. Maiya. Kirei Kotomine represents the most dangerous threat that Kiritsugu has ever have to face." She looked very serious. "You and I are going to hold him of here. Understood, Maiya?"

Maiya looked a bit sad. "I apologise, but please prepare yourself Madam."

"I will. Please don't worry about me. Do whatever you think you have to do. What you believe necessary to win. And not what Kiritsugu ordered you to do."

"Right." Maiya agreed as she readied her gun. Irisviel giggled, surprising Maiya. "What's so funny?"

"Isn't the human heart a funny thing?"

**(Inside the Castle)**

Kayneth was getting angry. He had been tracking Emiya, but somehow the man surprised him. If it wasn't for Volumen's automated defence, he would've died. Then Emiya had shot through Volumen with a stronger bullet, going through left shoulder. Emiya had escaped, and now he was seeking him again. But he'll be ready this time. He will be victorious.

Emiya will not escape!

**(Outside the Castle)**

Saber was getting worried. He already had prior experience with an enemy force that refused to stay down. He remembered how aggravating the Scourge had been when he fought against them. He already knew to be ready to strike out at a downed opponent. He had his back to the Castle so that they couldn't sneak up behind. He had summoned ghouls to fight alongside him.

But they just kept coming.

A group were blasted as Lancer flew overhead. But the hole was filled as they pulled themselves together somehow. One jumped impossibly high and knocked her off, but she managed to keep them at bay while her dragon transformed into a person and lashed out. Surprisingly, they didn't come back when frozen, burnt or hit with necromancy. But Saber knew they didn't have enough mana to keep this up forever. And the beasts had already converted his ghouls.

A screech above him made him glance up to see zombies crawling down he wall. He lashed out with death coil, before intercepting a blow from another zombie. Black spikes erupted by his feet and clanged as they glanced off his armour. He looked at Berserker to see him pulling his hand out of the ground. Saber growled. He had no choice. They would have to withdraw. But how to let Lancer know?

That problem was solved when one of the larger beasts struck her. She sailed through the air and smashed through a window. Her dragon took to the sky, waiting for her to regroup. As he carved a path to the door, he wondered if she was going to find her master. It was no concern if she didn't. The two of them could die now.

But he had better grab his real master before Berserker regrouped.

**(Inside)**

Emiya heard more traps being set off down the hallway. He knew they wouldn't hurt El-Melloi, but they gave him a clue where he was. The lights went out as another trap went off. He heard him muttering to himself as his mystic code smashed the hallway looking for him. Then he turned around.

"There you are you skulking little _rat_." Emiya smirked as they stared each other down. "You don't expect the same trick to work a second time, do you? Low-born scum. The fact that you succeeded in landing…"

Whatever he had to say was lost as his Servant came crashing through the window. Screeching and roaring now echoed through the hallway. Lancer got back up, wincing with pain.

"Boss, we gotta go." She said. "Berserker's here to claim the castle, and he's brought an army."

El-Melloi growled before looking at Emiya again. "It appears we'll have to cut this short. I do look forward to seeing these beasts devour you piece by piece." Lancer grabbed him as he collected his code, before calling for her dragon. They jumped out the window and landed on its back as it flew away.

And zombies crawled through the open window.

Emiya opened fire as he ran away, watching in surprise as they just got back up. He rushed down the hallways, hearing more explosions as they triggered yet more traps. He heard Saber's armour clanking as they met up not too far from the side passage Maiya and Iri had taken.

"This battle is lost." He said. "We need to leave immediately." His sword glowed and froze a zombie that had followed him. They rushed out the door, following the path Iri had taken.

Emiya hoped they would reach them, before these things did.

**(Outside)**

"Master, I have news. / Berserker is attacking. / He has an army." Assassin materialised as Kirei held Irisviel in one hand.

Their attack had been pitiful, though not for lack of trying. If it wasn't for his Kevlar robes and increased strength, they might've killed him. As it was, everything they threw at him failed. Bullets, knives, even magic string failed to make a dent in him. The other woman laid at his feet, injured and unable to move far. He had been questioning Irisviel, wondering who had ordered her to attack him and defend Emiya. There was no way they could've done it for love.

But then Assassin had appeared, and by listening Kirei heard things crashing through the forest. Assassin and him were no match for any army. As he walked away, he thought about the fight.

"_Impossible. Could these women have challenged me of their own accord? Without being ordered to do so?" _He frowned. _"No. Kiritsugu Emiya is like me. He is alone, and empty inside. Understood by no-one."_ He rushed after his Servant. _"He must be."_

Emiya gasped as he found them. They were badly injured. Saber rushed forward and killed a zombie as Emiya cradled them. They had to still be alive. They had to. He barely noticed as Saber made a clearing, only paying attention when his dragon rose from the ground. Saber helped him lift the girls on its back, holding on as it flew away. Looking back at the castle, he noticed Berserker standing alone, waving at them as they left. A glow let him see that Saber was healing Maiya and Irisviel. Everyone was silent as they flew through the clouds, shivering in the cold air.

Things had changed now, and definitely not for the better.

**(**/*\**)**

Berserker would've smirked if he had a mouth in this form, settling for an ironic wave at Saber and his team. His Infected were devouring the dead, reusing them to grow new soldiers. He commanded the group in the forest to consume the trees. He preferred human biomass, but beggars can't be choosers. And the Church would be in uproar if he used a city for his research. It was fortunate they didn't notice his visits to the local prison.

He walked through the open door, his creations spreading over the walls and floor. Soon, the castle will be ready for his work. Hunter growths were already forming over the walls, with Hydras growing on the floor.

He started laughing. Soon all the Servants will run before him. And he will improve this world.

No matter what anyone thought.

**And so Berserker chases Saber out of their castle and gains a new headquarters. I really wanted a good reason to change their base to the house from the anime. And I figured that having an army assault them would be a very good reason.**

**And for the first time, I'm making a little Omake. I hope you guys enjoy it.**

**(**/*\**)**

"Alright everyone, listen up." Risei shouted as the Servants crowded in the church. "Unfortunately, we kinda went over budget on some of the fights. I mean, we had a dragon fight, then Mr. Morris as Viggato, and this war in the castle sucked-up all our remaining funds. We are now officially broke."

"What?" Assassin said. "But my contract says we've still got a week or so before we're finished."

"Yeah." Archer said. "What are we going to do, wave sticks and shout 'bang, bang, bang'?"

Risei gave them all a massive grin. "Not to worry. The church knows a great way to make some fine cash. Disney Parodies!"

"WHAT?" Everyone shouted.

**(Disney)**

Archer wandered down the street, waving a cane in one hand. He was dressed in a mangy coat and pants. Both seemed expensive, but had fallen into disrepair over time. As he strolled along humming to himself, he spied with his little eye a strange little boy. Made of tin and with big beady eyes, he was a living puppet. He sneaked up behind the tin boy and tripped him up with his cane.

"Oh! Uh, oh how clumsy of me! My, my, my, my. Oh, I'm, uh, terribly sorry. I do hope you're not, um well, injured." He said.

"I'm alright." Clank replied.

Ah, well…um… good. And what's this? A book? Seems you're a man, I mean boy, of scholar. I mean, letters."

"I'm going to school." He replied.

"School? Nah. You don't need school. There's always the, uh, easy way to success."

"There is?"

Archer nodded, taking a bite from Clank's apple. "Showbiz. Where people don't care that you're small or metal, or that you're best friend has saved the universe about a dozen times and doesn't even get a hint of respect from others and…"

"Archer." Clank whispered. "You're going off script."

"Right well, anyway. I can already see your name in big, bright letters. Uh, what is your name?"

"Pinocchio."

"Pinocchio? Why that's got to be the dumbest…" He coughed. "I mean, greatest name ever. For a puppet."

Clank glared at him. "You're not even trying anymore, are you?"

"Nope."

"Well. The others must be doing better than this."

**(Disney)**

"Really?" Lancer asked from her canoe. "Pocahontas? That has got to be the most stereotypical thing you can think of."

"It was either that, or 'The Rescuers'." Risei yelled from his director chair. "Now, get into character."

Lancer sighed, flipping her long hair from her face. She strolled up to a large, gnarled tree, and whacked it several times with her lance. "Yo. Old hag. Wakey, wakey."

Kayneth coughed as leaves fell on his face. How insulting was this? Risei will pay for this insult. "Yes, speak to me child. What news do you bring?"

"My old man wants me to marry some weirdo, but I'm seeing a better choice in my dreams."

"Oh? A mystic dream? Do tell."

"I see a rugged blond man, spinning some arrow or something. Point is, he's hot. So where do I find him."

"The spirits of the land will point you to where he will be, child."

"Right. Thanks. By the way, I need some kindling." And with that, she smashed the tree wide open. Kayneth screamed as he went flying and crashed into the bush far away. Satisfied, Lancer wandered off to find some weird spirit to beat up. If she did that enough times, she'd get a real answer.

"CUT!" Risei yelled.

**(Disney)**

"Young love." Irisviel said from the tower. "It's a grand thing."

"Indeed." Sola sighed, gazing out the window. "But I worry he knows not how much I still love him."

"Now, now Maid Marian. That's not true. One day, your uncle Richard will have an outlaw for an in-law. Besides, absence makes the heart grow fonder."

"Or more forgetful. He's most likely found another lady to wed."

**(Disney)**

Assassin wore a green tunic and hat over his bodysuit, a bow on his back. He was lying in the grass, gazing at the sky.

"I know that look." Kirei said. "You're thinking of a girl with long eyelashes and wonderful beauty, aren't you?"

"…"

"Why do not climb her tower yonder and sweep her off her feet?"

"…"

"You know she still loves you, Robin Hood."

"…"

"Dammit, you're supposed to say something."

"…"

"What ho, Little John." Risei yelled as he stepped into the scene, his director beret still on. "Does thou heard-ith the news-ith?"

"Greetings, Friar Tuck." Kirei called back. "Do you mean the news that we anger old Prince John again?"

"Nay. I mean-ith thy news-ith that he shall host an archery contest-ith. Surely-ith one such as Robin Hood could-ith with the challenge-ith."

Assassin sat up at that. "Challenge?"

"Assassin." Kirei hissed. "You're supposed to be interested to win Maid Marian's heart."

"Don't I already have it? Didn't Sola just say she loved me?"

"But Robin Hood doesn't know that."

"I mean, I fight not for challenges, but for love." He looked at Kirei, as if seeking his approval.

He sighed. "Close enough."

**(Disney)**

"…He had love." Avenger said, holding tightly to a necklace and pointing at Caster. She wore a long white dress that showed off her curves. "He never lost sight of what was really important."

"Easy." Caster begged. He was dressed in a purple suit, with a tall top-hat on top. "Careful with that. Careful."

"And neither. Will. I." She tossed the necklace to the ground, only for it to stop as a Djinn grabbed it at the last moment. Caster chuckled an evil laugh as the walls fell down, showing they were now in a graveyard. A whirl of dust swirled around her, parting to reveal a frog puppet dangling on some strings.

"Y'all should've taken my deal." Caster pinned the puppet with his cane, his top-hat at a jaunted angle. "Now you will spend the rest of your lives as a slimy little frog."

"It's not slime. It's mucus!" Avenger's hand grabbed the necklace and smashed it to the ground. Caster screamed as the puppet escaped him.

"No. No! How am I gonna pay back my debts now?" His Djinn swirled around him, saying 'boom' over and over again. Three of them floated off the tombstones they had been sitting on. "Friends." Caster squeaked with a broken smile.

"Are you ready?" The three djinn sang.

"No. I'm not ready at all. In fact, I've got lots more plans."

"Are you ready?"

"This is just a minor setback in a major operation. Once I whip up another spell, we'll be back in business." Avenger whispered in his ear as he stalled. "I-I've still got that prince." The Djinn piled on him, pulling him back behind a grave. "Just a little more time. I'll promise to pay y'all back. I promise!" He gave a loud scream as they smothered him underneath. Risei sighed as he watched them.

"Well at least **someone** is taking this seriously."

**(Disney)**

"Do I have to wear this hat?" Waver whined, wearing a cowboy hat. "Why can't Johnson wear it? He's Texan, right?"

"Due to budget cuts, we can't afford Johnson." Risei explained. "Now shut up, Woody." The stage was set up so that it appeared that they were underneath a car. "And ACTION!"

Waver started backing away, looking fearful until he crashed into the back of Rider. "We're going to die!" Waver cried.

"Sheriff, this is no time to panic." Rider said, his armour painted white and with a jetpack on his back.

"This is a perfect time to panic! I'm lost, Andy is gone, they're gonna move to their new house in two days, and it's all your fault! "

Rider looked even scarier as he glared down at Waver. "My... My fault? If you hadn't pushed me out of the window in the first place..."

"Oh, yeah?" Waver interrupted. "Well, if **you** hadn't shown up with your stupid little cardboard spaceship and taken away everything that was important to me..."

"Don't talk to me about importance! Because of **you**, the future of this entire universe is in jeopardy!"

"What? What are you talkin' about?"

Rider gazed up at the sky, as difficult as it was through the car. "Right now, poised at the edge of the galaxy, Emperor Zurg has been secretly building a weapon with the destructive capacity to annihilate an entire planet! I alone have information that reveals this weapon's only weakness. And **you**, my friend, are responsible for delaying my rendezvous with Star Command!"

Waver stared at him for five seconds before shouting at him. "YOU. ARE. A. **TOY**! You aren't the real Buzz Lightyear! You're - you're an action figure! You are a child's play thing!" With that last sentence, he held his thumb and forefinger close together to emphasize how small Rider was. Rider merely stared at him before shaking his head.

"You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity." He used a military salute. "Farewell." And he started walking away.

"Oh, yeah?" Waver yelled after him. "Well, you're… you're a loser!"

"Cut!" Risei yelled. "Good, good. Except that Woody never called Buzz a loser. Now, when we start up again, I want you two to re-enact the fight between Buzz and Woody."

"Are you NUTS!?" Waver yelled back. "He's twice my size. He'd just need to roll over to kill me."

"Less whining, more fighting! ACTION!"

"I hate my life." Waver moaned.

**(Disney)**

Sakura screamed as the clock gears grew closer and closer to her, threatening to crush her underneath. Tohsaka did not hesitate, using a great chain to fly towards her. As he grabbed her at the last moment, Berserker roared as his cape was pinned between gears. His rage boiled over until he saw red, tearing the cape and growing claws and fangs. He raced through the gears, heedless of how close they came to crushing him, tearing apart anything g in his way. As he reached the top of the clock tower, he spotted Tohsaka handing Sakura to Kariya, who stood on a hot-air balloon. They nearly made it when he charged the two of them. Though Sakura was pushed into Kariya's arms, he at least carried Tohsaka with him as he fell to the hands of the clock. They landed at different parts, Berserker cracking the metal when he landed. He rushed after Tohsaka, striking at him with his claws. But Tohsaka waylaid him with a stream of fire, giving him a chance to dodge. But eventually, his luck ran out. Berserker grabbed him by the throat, slamming him again and again to the ground. He threw him aside with a slash, and stalked towards his battered body.

"There's no escape this time, Basil." He growled as he walked closer. He grabbed him by the throat again, and threw him off the hand. As Kariya and Sakura gazed on in horror, he smiled and cackled. "I've won!" He laughed. "I've won, I've won!"

"On the contrary!" He heard Tohsaka shout back. Stopping his revelry, he looked down to see him hanging on to the crashed airship he arrived on. "The game's not over yet." He held up a bell, **his** bell, and gave it a single ring. The clock struck twelve. And the bell rang.

The vibrations were enough to shake him over the side. As he fell, he reached out for Tohsaka. But he missed by inches. As he continued falling, screaming and roaring in defeat, He heard Tohsaka give one final remark.

"That's going to hurt."

**(Disney)**

The final scene was on top of a snow-covered mountain. The breeze blew by in swirls of ice as Saber walked up the side. Ice formed around him as he walked, rage barely contained. Mind you, none of the other Servants had to crossdress.

"I. Am not. Singing." He gritted out. "Especially in this outfit."

"C'mon Saber." Risei called through the megaphone. "Elsa is an ice Queen. You're an ice King. She was stoic, you're emotionally vacant. She creates winterlands, and you make wastelands. Now get singing."

Saber sighed as music started playing. He glared at everyone as they waved him on. Finally, his part came. But there was no way he was going to sing.

"The snow glows white on the mountainside, not a footprint to be seen." He said. Yes, not sung. Said. "A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I'm the King. The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside. Couldn't keep it in, Heaven knows I tried." If he hadn't been glowering, or on a mountain, he might've noticed Risei talking to Emiya. "Don't let them in, don't let them see. Be the good man you always have to be. Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know." By now he was really singing, eyes ablaze as Emiya's Command Seals glowed. "Well now they know."

"Let it go, let it go. I am going to kill you all. Let it go, let it go. The entire world will fall. I don't care, what the police will say. Let the storm rage on. The cold never bothered me anyway."

**(Disney)**

"Right then." Risei gathered everyone he could back together in a meeting. Unfortunately, several members couldn't make it for one reason or another. "The good news is that we made a shitload of cash from those parodies. Unfortunately, after removing the expenses, such as the sets, the costumes, broken equipment, Kayneth's medical bill, Waver's medical bill, Tohsaka's medical bill, Emiya's fake funeral…"

"That was fake?" Saber growled.

"I mean **real** funeral, property damage, hurt feelings, peeling Berserker off the pavement and copyright infringement… We're broke again. In fact, we're worse off than when we started.

"So, we just embarrassed ourselves for no reason whatsoever." Archer summed the whole thing up. Everyone glared at Risei until Berserker looked at Saber.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?

Saber smiled. "I hope so."

**(Disney)**

"I can't believe we just robbed Fort Knox." Caster said as they left burning rubble behind them.

"I can't believe we didn't think of this sooner." Berserker retorted, carting a massive load of gold behind him. "This solves our problems ten-fold. Hell, we might have enough to do a sequel."

"Hello there, mighty warriors." Kiritsugu Emiya called out as he walked closer, wearing an eye-patch and a fake moustache. "I am Shirou Emiya, Kiritsugu's long-lost and more handsome twin brother. Can I help you in spending that gold?"

Everyone stared at him for a while before Saber sighed. "I can't even be bothered. Sure Emiya. Just don't touch my share."

"Certainly, now where are your most beautiful ladies, who shared my brother's bed?"

**There we go. Took a while to figure out which films to parody. Some were easy, like Archer and Pinocchio, or Saber and Frozen. Berserker gave me so much trouble though. Hope you guys know which Disney films they starred in.**

**Well, tell me what you thought about it. Finally, here is Berserker's stat sheet, since he's made such a big impact in the plot.**

Berserker

Name: Alex Mercer

Series: Prototype

Master: Kariya Matou

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Strength: A

Endurance: EX

Agility: A

Magical Power: N/A

Good Luck: E

Noble Phantasm: A++

Class Skills:

Independent Action (EX)

Independent Action is the ability to remain independent even when rejecting the prana supply from the Master. At the higher ranks, it is also possible to remain for extended periods of time in this world without an established contract. It is both useful and troublesome depending on the disposition of the Servant and the rank of Independent Action. Acting in autonomy from the Master's prana supply, the Master can concentrate their own prana on large spells, or the Servant will be fine even in the case they cannot supply prana due to injury. The downside is that they can be harder to control and keep by their side, making the only true way to command them by utilizing Command Spells. At this level the Servant can remain in this world indefinitely, and can utilise all Noble Phantasms without outside mana.

_Due to Mercer's biological make-up, once he creates a construct he will be alive again instead of being another spirit._

Mad Enhancement (A)

Mad Enhancement raises basic parameters in exchange of hindering mental capacities. In some cases, also seals away Personal Skills. At A level there is a rank up for parameters, but most of one's reason is robbed. Due to undergoing consciousness equalization with the Master, one has become a more mechanical Servant.

_Mercer enters a rage form, doing more damage at faster speed, but becomes less defensive and resilient in exchange._

Territory Creation (A)

Territory Creation is the skill to build a special terrain that is advantageous to oneself as a magus. At A rank creation of a "Temple", which is superior to a "Workshop", becomes possible.

_Due to the viral effects of Blacklight, Mercer can create entire areas that impede his opponents and boost the stats of his creations and himself._

Personal Skills:

Animal Dialogue (A)

Animal Dialogue is communication of intention with animals that don't speak a "language of words". At this rank the Servant can understand and communicate with all animals.

_Due to eating animals, Mercer can understand their language and body stances._

Battle Continuation (EX)

Battle Continuation is the strength of vitality for predicaments. Also, the ability to withdraw from combat and reach allied territory alive after being defeated. At this rank the only way to kill the Servant is to utterly destroy them with an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm or higher.

_Unless one completely destroys all samples of Blacklight, Mercer can regenerate from even the smallest sample._

Clairvoyance (C)

Clairvoyance connotes superior visual perception and dynamic occipital capture, such as to supplement the long-range aiming of projectile weapons. At higher ranks, it is possible that the bearers of this skill have acquired such abilities as precognition ("future vision") and other forms of perception beyond standard eyesight (X-ray vision and so forth). At this rank Berserker is capable of keeping track of fast-moving object within a range of 4kms.

Eternal Arms Mastership (A+)

Eternal Arms Mastership prevents degradation of fighting skills when under the effect of mental hindrance. At this level mastership of combat arts has reached the point of being said to be unrivalled in one's era. By complete merging of mind, body and technique, it is possible to make use of full fighting skills even when under the influence of any sort of mental hindrance.

Expert of Many Specializations (A+)

Expert of Many Specializations is access to and use of many expert skills. At this level Berserker has mastered nearly all skills of the modern world.

_By consuming the brains of his victims, Mercer can learn every skill and experience they know, including security codes and military skills._

Eye of the Mind (False) (A)

It refers to a natural talent to avoid danger on the basis of an innate 6th sense, intuition, or prescience, where accuracy of instinct has been augmented by experience - somewhat overcoming the problem of visual obstructions that appear in the course of combat. The ability grants an effect of offering resistance against penalties caused by visual obstructions.

Librarian of Stored Knowledge (A)

Librarian of Stored Knowledge is an ability that makes it possible for a clear recall of knowledge from memory with a successful Luck check, even if the information perceived in the past was not consciously acknowledged at the time. At this level the Servant can easily remember everything they have learned.

_As his whole body is made of individual Blacklight cells, his brain is capable of storing more knowledge than any computer. The larger he becomes, the more knowledge he can use._

Mental Pollution (C)

Mental Pollution makes it highly possible to shut out any mental interference Thaumaturgy, due possessing a distorted mentality. However, at the same time it becomes impossible to come to an understanding with individuals that do not possess an equivalent rank of mental pollution. At this rank it provides a probability that mental interference magecraft will be rendered ineffective. In the condition that the Servant's master is of Evil alignment, and perpetrates acts of cruelty against the Servant, Mental Pollution will increase in rank, further increasing defences against magecraft.

_As a virus, Mercer is almost completely incapable of thinking like a normal human. He can replicate feelings and acts of good or evil, but he cannot categorise himself as evil._

Monstrous Strength (A)

Monstrous Strength is an ability possessed by monsters and beasts, temporary boost of the Strength parameter by one rank for a time limit determined by the ranking of this skill. As Berserker is a true monster this skill is always active. Rises to EX level when using _Top of the Food Chain_.

Natural Body (EX)

Natural Body is the possession of a perfect body as a living being from birth. The owner of this Skill is treated as if his STR is always Rank-Up. At this rank STR is rank-up three times.

Presence Detection (EX)

Presence Detection is the ability to detect other Servants and local mana sources. Called an ability of the highest class, Berserker is capable of detecting anything from other Servants to water sources clear across Snowfield, covering more than ten kilometres.

_Using his Sonar ability, Berserker is capable of tracking any prey he can get a clear image of._

Self-Modification (EX)

Self-Modification is the aptitude to merge one's own flesh with body parts of others. The higher the ranking in this skill, the further away one is from being a proper hero. At this level Berserker can modify his body to do anything biologically possible or probable.

_His cellular structure means that Alex can shapeshift into anything biologically possible, and several that are regarded as impossible._

Shapeshift (EX)

Shapeshifting refers to both borrowing bodies and appearance change. A method used by the millenary spirits of foxes and badgers of China that are put on par with Tamamo-no-Mae. At this level Berserker can copy someone exactly, right down to DNA and memories if he has consumed their DNA or brain.

Noble Phantasms:

Survival of The Fittest

After suffering an effect, Mercer can modify his body to be more resistant to it next time.

My name is Legion (Anti-Army)

Alex breeds large amounts of infected to create an army. Requires either large amounts of mana or biomass. At larger levels will create a reality marble based on New York Zero.

Top of the Food chain (Anti-Army)

Mercer evolves into a massive monster that attacks through tentacles, rubble, bio orbs and screams.


	10. Last One Out, Hit The Lights

**The fight last time was awesome. That is what I see in Fate/Zero. A massive three-way brawl between Servants. This chapter is more for setting things up for the next one, but it's still going to have a fight or two.**

**Enjoy.**

Chapter 10: Last One Out, Hit The Lights

**(10:00pm, Fuyuki Church)**

Kirei walked through the lower levels of the church, thinking over the recent encounter with the Einzberns. He felt a rush whenever he thought about the Hisau woman's ribs breaking, or his blades running through the Homunculus. Normally, he would've been praying for forgiveness. But he liked this feeling. It brought a smile to his face.

He stepped through one of the far doors to find Berserker looking over his 'workshop'. While other Magi would decorate their workshops with runes, old texts and rare materials; Berserker decorated with flesh and blood. Pustules quivered as thing grew inside them. One of them burst open, and a large boxing-looking beast crawled out. It seemed to shrink as it exited out a door that definitely wasn't there before. Berserker turned to face him with a smile.

"Ah, Kotomine. Welcome. I'm afraid we're past my open hours, but I can make an exception if it's **really** important."

"You attacked the Einzbern Castle." It wasn't a question.

"I needed more room. This place is good, very ironic, but it's not big enough for my demands. What's your excuse for being there?"

Kirei thought about denying it, but they both knew he was there. "I went to fight Kiritsugu Emiya, who I have now identified as Saber's Master. However, the women got in my way and your soldiers chased me off."

"Aw. Did little old me ruin your fun?" Berserker changed into a granny for some reason.

"Where did you get those things anyway?"

"Old granny Berserker made them from her famous recipe. Corpses, criminals and a hint of Me."

"I felt better than ever after hurting the women. More alive than ever before."

Berserker now changed into a bald man in a tweed coat and a grey moustache. A couch and a chair formed from the meat on the floor. "Interesting. Please, lie down and tell me more about how it made you feel."

Kirei thought about refusing, but Berserker already made it clear how easily he could kill him if he wanted to. When he sat on the couch, it actually felt like a couch. He laid down and thought about how he felt.

"I felt whole. Like I could smile from it. Like I wasn't sad anymore. A warm feeling fluttered in me. Holy light ran through my veins and I wept in happiness."

Berserker nodded, scribbling on a piece of paper. "What you are describing is what human feel when they are happy. When they like something. Of course, most people associate such things with good stuff. Like family, friends or winning the lottery."

"So hurting people makes me happy? That doesn't make sense."

"Let's test it shall we?" He morphed into two people, one who held an axe in one hand. Axe-man swung it at the other man, who yelled as it cut into his shoulder, nearly reaching his stomach. They both looked at Kirei and spoke in unison. "How did that make you feel?"

He couldn't lie. "Good. It felt good watching that."

Berserker was one man again. "People would say that we are unnatural, feeling good about the pain of others. For not following **their** rules. But rules are made by the strong. If they cannot make me obey, then they will have to obey my rules."

Kirei started laughing. He wasn't quite sure why. "Do you enjoy pain?"

"Pain of others means nothing to me. The doctor parts of me force me to intervene, but I don't truly feel sorrow for them. But I truly wish to improve mankind. That is my happiness. To improve. To grow. To help others find happiness."

Kirei got up. "Then you think I shouldn't care that I'm evil. That I should revel in it."

"No Kirei. I'm saying that if evil makes you happy, then you should go for it."

**(Same Time, Unknown Rooftop)**

Tohsaka was standing on a roof, watching the moon overhead. It was certainly a strange night. Kirei had contacted him by phone, asking him to meet him on this roof. He said he hadn't used the communicator because someone had snuck in and destroyed it. He had also said that whatever was so important was not for Servant ears. Tokiomi had frowned at that, but followed those rules regardless. Archer was with Rin and Aoi, having some time off with them. With luck, their meeting would be over before anything bad happened.

Footsteps sounded on the roof. Tokiomi sighed as Kirei walked closer. "Finally. What is this matter that is so urgent, Kirei?" He gasped. It was not Kirei who walked towards him, but Kariya Matou.

"I'm sorry Tohsaka." Kariya said in Kirei's voice. "But Kirei doesn't know about this little meeting."

"Kariya. I see that you finally came crawling back home. I guess the promise of the Grail was too much for someone like you."

"Like me?" Kariya said in his own voice. "What about you? You just gave Sakura away like a toy or a book. Does family mean nothing to you Tokiomi? Does their happiness mean anything?"

Tokiomi hid it well, but he was shaking in rage. "I am thinking about their happiness. Both of my girls are powerful Magi. Both could easily be my heir. But it would be painful to choose who gets my Mystic Code, while the other falls into obscurity. With no Matou heir, Zouken was all too willing to adopt her. Now she's part of a family, one where she won't have to fight her sister for their inheritance."

"That's all you care about? Your heir? A bastard like you cares nothing for Sakura."

"ENOUGH!" Tokiomi shouted, losing his composure. "How dare you even suggest I don't care for Sakura. My heart nearly tore in two when I gave her away. But it would hurt all of us if I didn't. I gave her away for **her** happiness. But I wouldn't expect a coward like **you** to know about family."

Kariya roared as bugs burst out of his body. They flew around him, spikes and claws dotting their carapaces. "I'll show you coward. I'll look after Aoi, and Rin, and Sakura. I'll do a better job than you ever would." The bugs flew straight at Tokiomi, who shot fire at them from his staff. It took longer to kill them, but none got close. Kariya jumped forward, faster than Tokiomi expected. He was about to claw at him when a shot blasted him sideways.

"Yoo-hoo." A deep mechanical voice said. Tokiomi looked over to see a small floating robot. It was coloured black and green, missing its legs and with blue eyes. One hand was a laser of some kind. "Archer sent Mr Zurkon to protect you." He looked over at Kariya, who was glaring at the robot. Zurkon chuckled. "Mr Zurkon will enjoy killing you." He opened fire on Kariya, who moved much faster than Tokiomi thought possible. He tried to hit Zurkon, but he missed everytime. Zurkon was saying how Kariya was too slow, when another blast hit Kariya from behind. Everyone looked over to see a smaller Zurkon with only one eye.

"Zurkon Jr love 'Bring Your Son To Work Day." He said in a higher-pitched voice. With both Zurkon and Jr shooting, Kariya started getting holes in his body. They healed over, but Kariya looked furious. More bugs sprouted from him, and now Zurkon and Son were having to keep moving. A **third** blast struck some bugs, and everyone turned to look again.

This Zurkon was bigger, and built to look like a sitcom wife. "Mrs Zurkon says get the hell away from my son." They all started blasting. Kariya screamed in pain as their shots overwhelmed him. Holes were now harder to heal over, and his bugs were gone. Kariya quickly jumped over the railing, but not before Tokiomi set him alight. He screamed as he ran away.

"Stupid human." Mr Zurkon said. "Mr Zurkon never runs like a coward."

Tokiomi sighed. He should check that Kirei was alright. He wouldn't put it past Kariya to have attacked him beforehand.

**(9:10pm, Abandoned Warehouse)**

"Sheesh." Lancer groaned. "Every time we have a fight you end up hurt. If you're not careful, you'll fall apart at the seams."

"Be silent Lancer." Kayneth growled as Caster healed him. "I had him right where I wanted him. If it wasn't for Berserker and his damned monsters."

"Really Kayneth." Sola groaned. "If you spent less time gloating you wouldn't have been hurt in the first place."

"All done." Caster interrupted before they had a row. Kayneth stretched, wincing slightly as his body protested. He was about to curse Emiya again when Lancer pushed him to one side.

A small crater exploded on the wall behind where he had been standing. Sola shrieked as another crater appeared where her head was. Kayneth instantly had Volumen shield her as Lancer carried him away. A yellow and white tube appeared in the room and exploded, causing more explosions afterwards.

"Dammit." Lancer cursed. "That must've been Assassin. Sneaky little bastard." She placed Kayneth back down. "Caster, get our masters to safety. I'm gonna kill Assassin." Before anyone could object, she rushed out the doorway in the direction of the shots. She kept ducking and weaving, craters forming around her as Assassin missed. She spotted him on a roof, turning to face her again. She let off a 'Ruinga' spell, and kept running when it hit. She already knew that Assassin could make fakes of himself. As she ran down an alleyway, a dagger brushed past her cheek. She rolled, sweeping her lance as she rose. It clanged against Assassin's blade. They clashed several times before he dropped another grenade at his feet. Lancer sprung away, getting grazes and cuts from the debris. She rushed at Assassin as she landed, ready to skewer him. She was shocked when she went right through him, her momentum to fast to stop. The real Assassin slashed her shoulder as she passed. She rolled again, wincing in pain. She charged again.

This happened for a while. Though she managed to hit him several times, they were just flukes. She managed to smack him into the open and called down Bahamut. He changed into his humanoid form and struck out at Assassin. He was shot a few times in the chest, but they weren't a problem for him. Bahamut slashed at Assassin, but it was another hologram. A stronger blast impacted, pushing Bahamut back a bit. Lancer rushed towards where the bullet came from, ready to strike him again. She found another grenade, but she managed to push Assassin out into the open again. She and Bahamut kept pushing, but Assassin was skilled. As Bahamut slashed a fake again, a rocket flew through the air at him. It impacted with a much greater force than it should've had. Bahamut faded away, screaming in pain. Lancer used 'Windga' to blow Assassin out of hiding. It seemed that she would need to use her best skill for this last fight.

"**Ragnarok, come Day of Wrath. O Pulse L'Cie. Embrace thy fate, thine home to burn. Ragnarok, come Day of Wrath. O Pulse L'Cie. Embrace thy fate, thine home to burn. That fallen souls might bear our plea. To hasten the Divine's return. O piteous Wanderer,** **Ragnarok. Make of this day a brave epoch. Deliver the Divine, Ragnarok."** She glowed as she sang, changing into a large beast. She became mostly blue, with a large spiky tail, and many orange arms around her. She roared as she charged Assassin, who merely raised his sniper rifle once more.

**(10:30pm, Fuyuki Streets)**

Waver was flicking through radio stations as Rider drove about. Private Simmons was in the back, spinning the turret around. This one was different from the first, being two parts with rockets inside. Rider hoped that it would be enough firepower to deal with Caster, Berserker or Archer. Finding nothing good on, Waver flicked it off. He sat for a while before finally deciding to talk.

"I saw your memories last night." He began. Rider merely nodded. "Did they really recruit you when you were only 6?"

"They wanted to avoid breakdowns in battle." He said. "By training us from 6, we would be prepared for actual combat before long, while still being in good physical condition."

"But what about your parents? Didn't they care that you'd been abducted?"

"They didn't know." Cortana said. She sounded embarrassed. "All SPARTANS were replaced by flash-clones. But because proper clones are still beyond us, they would've all died with a few years. ONI made sure to arrange 'accidents' or otherwise people might notice nearly 100 kids dying from internal malfunction."

Waver felt surprised. "Man, that sucks." Simmons said. "Glad I was a SPARTAN IV."

"Something else I want to ask about are the aliens." Waver ignored Simmons.

"What about them?" Rider asked.

"So, first the Covenant went to war with you. Then you found the Flood, who went to war with everyone. And after them, you found a living Forerunner. Who wanted to wipe out mankind." Rider had nodded with each of those points. "Why does every alien species gang up on us?"

"Well, the Covenant were at war because we threatened their religion." Cortana said. "They went to Harvest looking for Forerunner artefacts, and only found humans. After killing them, their leaders looked at their Forerunner A.I and found that they had been looking for 'Reclaimers'. That meant that Humans were to inherit all the Forerunner technology and knowledge, instead of the Covenant. Their leaders said we were a blasphemy to the Forerunners and tried to kill us so that **they** could get the stuff. The Flood want to devour all life ever, so everyone teamed up against **them**. And as for The Diadact, I looked through old Forerunner files on Requiem. It turned out that Humanity had been around at the same time and was as advanced as the Forerunners. But we invaded them because we were attacked by the Flood. We needed more planets because we kept losing ours. The Forerunners went to war with us, and while we drove off the Flood, we didn't have enough infrastructure, resources or men to win against the Forerunners. We were reduced to the stone age, and the Diadact hated us for the war. Oh, and for killing his sons."

"Ironically, It also seems that their 'creator', the Precursors, originally chose us for their 'Mantle of Responsibility'. This meant that whichever species had it was responsible for protecting all life in the Universe. The Forerunners took offence to that, and wiped out the Precursors. The Precursors tried to destroy the Forerunners, but I can't quite tell if they struck first or last. Regardless, the Forerunners took the Mantel, and I doubt Humanity even knew about it."

"Man." Waver sighed. "That was _exactly_ what the Covenant did."

"I know." Rider slowed down for some reason. Looking past him, Rider saw Archer's human form walking down the street. Without a word, Simmons lined up the shot. Four rockets flew at Archer, but he dodged them all somehow. His disguise faded as he rocketed down the street on jet boots. Rider gunned the engine and they raced off after him.

Simmons kept shooting rockets at him, but his jetpack shot lightning that destroyed them all. He pulled out some kind of orange-blue-and-white rocket launcher that let off napalm where ever it hit. Rider kept dodging the blasts, leaving Waver to fire the rifle he had been given. Remembering Johnson's instructions, he lined up the shot as best as he could, before firing. Bullets pinged against the road, but a few glanced off Archer's armour. As they passed near an empty park, Archer swapped for a purple gun. It charged up as he turned to face them. Some kind of sparky blast was fired, impacting with the Warthog. As the engine smoked, Archer fired again. Rider grabbed Waver as he and Simmons jumped out of the vehicle. When the second blast hit, the Warthog exploded. Rider got up from where he had been standing, pulling out his sub-machine gun and firing at Archer. Archer sped around on his boots, he swapped for a claw weapon. Three drones were fired out, speeding over to Rider. He ran, with the drones following him. They impacted with a tree when he ran behind it.

"**Forward unto Dawn, Marines."** He said as Simmons laid down covering fire. An Airlock materialised, letting off a dozen marines. They opened fire as they ran, causing Archer to hide behind a fountain. As they got closer, he threw a grenade at them. Rider hid behind a bench, but instead of exploding, music started playing. He looked over, and was left gobsmacked.

All the marines were dancing, as the grenade – now easily recognisable as a disco ball – floated in mid-air. Archer pulled out a gun with three spiked claws around the large barrel. They rotated as Archer pointed the weapon. A large electrical ball was fired, lightning arcing to each marine as it passed. The men dissipated, before Archer fired at Rider. He charged forward, his shields shattering from the lightning, ready to start punching Archer. But Archer pulled out a whip of some kind, leaving fire wherever it struck. Rider backed away, planning for something different.

"**Lay An M85 Down By My Feet."** He said. A drop-pod smashed into the ground not too far from him. As the panels broke off, he rushed over to grab a weapon. He heard Simmons grunt in pain as he pulled out a SAW. He opened fire on Archer, who threw a ball that turned into a shield. The SAW's bullets bounced off as Archer pulled out a four-barrelled rocket launcher. Rider ran as he fired.

"**You're The Soldier They Need you To Be."** He vanished as his active cloaking started up. Archer looked around warily, until Rider got him with a shotgun blast. Before he could even yell, Rider started punching him and blasting him. As Archer pulled out large boxing gloves, Rider boosted away from him. He placed a shield in front of him, rattling Archer until he blasted him again. He was about to land another blow when he was attacked from the side. As he rolled away, he saw his attacker.

It was a robot, with a round head and green optics. These optics were glaring at him as the robot pulled Archer up.

"**Grummelnet"** Archer said, blue orbs floating from the robot. As guns reloading echoed, the two groups looked at each other.

"Rider?" Waver asked, trembling.

"Sir." Rider responded. "Whatever the outcome of this fight, never forget what I said. Keep pushing forward, no matter what."

"**They'll Regret That Too."** A glow extended from him, engulfing everyone in the park. When Waver opened his eyes, he was astounded.

They were inside a Reality Marble, based on a winter location. Far in the distance, a strange line circled overhead before ending on the other side.

"_It a Halo."_ Waver shivered at this. _"I'm in a Reality Marble based on an alien world."_ This was amazing.

Then the ground started rumbling. Looking at a large plain, Waver saw a massive fleet of Warthogs and Scorpions and other vehicles driving closer. There were Marines running along with them, while troops drop-podded to the ground. Aircraft and Spaceships filled the sky. It must've been the entire UNSC army.

Archer merely stretched as he looked at the display. "Alright then. **War-Bot 2.0.**" His robot started growing, becoming more heavily armed as he became 50 metres tall. **"Tools of Destruction."** Weapons formed in mid-air, ranging from blaster, to bombs, to rockets, to lasers and more. Waver shivered. There had to be hundreds of them. The UNSC charged forwards, while Archer mimed pulling the trigger.

Then, chaos.

**And there is the reason I chose Master Chief and Ratchet as Servants. I know that the UNSC seems a bit small, but that's just the first wave. And besides, some of Ratchet's weapons would be classified as 'Planet-Busters' in the Halo setting. So it all evens out.**

**With Berserker encouraging Kirei to be evil, remember he is a virus. He doesn't really have a proper morality like we do. To him it is survival of the fittest, and do whatever you like. That's why he's for it. And I really wanted to do Grandma Mercer. It was just too good to pass up.**

**Now, another Omake. I based this on Carnival Phantasm's Grand Prix story. It is not to be taken seriously. **

**Have fun.**

"Welcome contestants To the Fourth Holy Grail Grand Prix!" Risei shouted through a microphone. "I'm your commentator, Risei Kotomine! And aiding me is young Miss. Illyasviel Von Einzbern, all the way from Germany!"

"Win the cup Daddy!" Illya yelled from her seat next to Risei.

"And now to introduce the combatants! In first position, Saber and his master Kiritsugu Emiya, riding on Invincible the undead horse! This horse served Saber faithfully in life, and will do so again in death!"

"Win for me, Daddy!" Illya yelled. Saber was wearing full armour, with Emiya sitting right behind him with a load of guns. Invincible snorted and shook his head.

"In second position, Archer and his master Tokiomi Tohsaka, using Archer's Hoverbike! According to him, he used this bad boy to win races against Thugs-4-less!" It was a hovering orange motorcycle, with two cannons on the front and a skull emblazoned on the hood. "In third position, Lancer and her master Kayneth-El-Melloi, riding on top of a legendary Behemoth! This is a very dangerous and ferocious monster from Lancer's homeworld!"

"I've noticed, asshole!" Kayneth shouted back as the Behemoth tried to eat his leg again. The behemoth was a large cyborg monster, with spikes all over, two long flaps flowing from its head, and a large spiked horn extending from its spine.

"In fourth position, Rider and his master Waver Velvet, riding in on a Chopper! Interestingly enough, this monstrosity was originally built as farming equipment!"

"This was a farming machine?" Waver couldn't believe it. The Chopper was a large motorcycle thing, with a massive cutting wheel at the front underneath large metal plating. Two cannons jutted out from the sides, along with other spiky things.

"In the fifth position, is Berserker and his master Kariya Matou, riding on their Goliath! And with its arm weighing a ton, this bad boy will clear any path!"

"I'm on top of the world, bitches!" Berserker shouted from atop his goliath. It was the size of a building, with its muscles bared for all to see. Its limbs were all different sizes, with its front legs large like a gorilla. But its left arm was almost as big as the entire monster.

"In sixth position, is Caster and his mistress Sola-Ui Nuada-Re blah, blah, blah! Get a shorter name, lady! Anyway, they'll be riding on the summon Zagan! This puppy gets 5000 miles to the Djinn!" Caster waved as he sat on top of Zagan, a minotaur-like creature. If the minotaur had been part-lion as well. In one hand, he held onto a massive axe.

"In seventh position, is Assassin with his master, my very own son, Kirei Kotomine! And they'll be riding in the best vehicle from the Borderlands, the Outrunner! Also, a 'Scooter' would like me to remind everyone that he is not liable if his vehicle explodes for some reason! Also, 'Catch-a-Ride'!" Assassin looked menacing inside the cockpit. Shame his vehicle looked like it was made from scrap. It was made with an H-frame base, with a turret in the exact centre. Another turret was attached to the front of the cockpit, allowing Assassin to fire. "Finally, in eighth position is Avenger! She will be riding a Prismere Troll, captained by Rast Brattigan! Recognised back in Amalur as the worst sailor ever!"

"Hey there, Wifey!" A blue-skinned elf yelled as she jumped on top of Avenger from a giant troll. The troll was a large humanoid, with red crystals fused with its arms and back.

"Rumour has it that Miss Brattigan captained a ship when she was no bigger than her father's knee! She then promptly crashed it into the dock, totalling three ships with one wreck!" Everyone hopped on their mounts and got into position. "Alright then! Three! Two! One!"

"*BLEEP* them up, Pa!" Illya interrupted him, as the racers revved off. All of them started fighting for the lead, before the group split into several positions.

"And in first is Archer on his bike! Followed closely by Caster on Zagan! And fighting for third place is Assassin, Rider, Saber and Lancer! And at the rear is Avenger and Berserker! This is turning out promising!"

Rider grunted as he blocked off Saber's blows, while Lancer moved up beside them. With a final smash, Saber quickly raced after her, but was surprised as Rider boosted ahead. He knew he had to thin out the competition. **"Forward Unto Dawn, Vehicles."** The racetrack was covered by a bright glow as large panels descended from the sky. A Mongoose, Warthog, Ghost and a Scorpion thundered of the platforms and joined the race. The Warthog pulled in front, barrels blazing. Kirei tried to shoot down the jeep, but both were swerving too much to hit either of them. Inside the jeep, he spied three men in armour. The passenger wore bright-red armour, while the driver had orange, and the gunner had maroon.

"Grif!" The red soldier shouted in a Texan accent while hitting the orange one. "Your driving is impeding our mission!"

"My driving is the only thing keeping us alive! Simmons the one who can't shoot for shit!" Grif yelled, pointing at the maroon soldier on the turret.

"Simmons!" The red one shouted back. "Stop horsing around and shoot 'em!"

"Sorry, Sarge!" Simmons apologised. "They're very good at evasive fire!"

"I don't know about this!" A purple soldier shouted, driving the alien hover vehicle known as a Ghost. "I'm a pacifist, remember?!" Saber took this as his cue, firing a blast right behind him. The purple one yelled "Son of a bitch!" as he exploded. Assassin, meanwhile, grabbed Kirei by the front of his robe and threw him into the driver's seat. He then promptly started blasting at the jeep until it exploded. Funnily enough, just as it started burning, Sarge grabbed Grif and threw him into the oncoming fire. The Scorpion tank rumbled up behind them, with three soldiers hanging onto handles. The one driving wore blue armour, while the others had on cobalt, aquamarine, and dark-grey-with-yellow-trimming.

"Fuck! Those guys just killed Doc!" The aquamarine one shouted.

"I'm more worried about how quickly we're getting killed!" The grey-and-yellow one retorted while shooting at Assassin. He would've killed him if it wasn't for his shield.

"Tucker, Wash. Shut the fuck up already!" The cobalt soldier seemed to be in charge. Assassin shot him down, but he somehow became a ghost. "I've had enough of this dipshit. Caboose!" He yelled at the driver.

"Yes Church?! Do you want to be best friends?!"

"See Assassin? He's our friend! Help him out, will you?!"

"Ok!" Caboose started blasting at Assassin, despite Kirei's driving. The Outrunner caught on fire, and the two had to bail out as it smashed through the barrier. But not before Assassin threw a grenade. To his ire though, it was intercepted by another grenade thrown by a pink soldier on a Mongoose. He drove by holding closely to a yellow soldier by the waist.

"Take that you son-of-a-bitch!" The pink one said in a male voice as they drove past. Behind them, the Outrunner exploded, destroying a fancy loft.

"NO!" Risei yelled. "My illegal condo bought with stolen Church funds and my 'My Little Pony Friendship' collection!" Everyone actually stopped racing and fighting to stare at him in surprise. "Er, I mean, my _totally_ legal home that I made with my own money and was filled with Holy scriptures!" Everyone continued to stare at him. "KEEP RACING!"

"And so Assassin is out of the running!" Illya reported. "Archer and Caster are in the lead still, with Saber close behind. Lancer and Rider are duking it out for third place!"

"Yes, and while Avenger and Berserker are still at the end of the line, they're rapidly closing the distance to Rider! In fact, Avenger's troll just took out the Mongoose!"

"Son-of-a-bitch!" Donut screamed as the troll bashed the Mongoose with its giant tree club.

"Madre De Dios!" His Spanish driver shouted at the same time.

Rast laughed as they rushed past. "See? I told you they're natural sprinters! You just got to poke them enough times!"

Up ahead, Rider and Lancer were trading blows, with Rider holding onto a giant hammer. Everytime it hit the Behemoth, the creature was thrown aside by the gravitational force. But the blows weakened as the charge wore out, letting Lancer finally start parrying it with her lance. She gave a loud laugh as Kayneth clung on for dear life. During a lull in the fighting as both rides pulled away, She looked up as a shadow appeared over Rider. He tried to swerve, but couldn't stop Avenger's troll from landing on the back. The chopper scraped against the road as the troll grabbed hold. Parts flew away as Lancer pulled up ahead with a jaunty wave. While Waver screamed, Avenger and Rast hooted and hollered.

"Told you that would work!" She shouted to Avenger. The troll roared as Rider started shooting him in the groin. "Oi! Stop castrating our troll, you bastard!" Rider had to duck as Avenger fired off arrows to distract him. Waver screamed again as fire started billowing from the engine and the front wheels. As both sides stared in horror, the Chopper exploded. Rider skidded for several more metres with Waver in his arms, while Avenger's troll rushed out of the smoke riding on top of the large wheel. "Well, this out to speed things along! Onwards, matey!"

"And Rider is out of the running!" Risei announced. "Such a shame, such a shame! Guess his Scorpion will have to avenge him! But Wait! What's that coming up behind?! Is that…? Yes it is! Berserker is charging ahead!"

"WE BRAKE FOR NOBODY!" Berserker yelled at the top of his lungs. His Goliath had its massive arm against the road, acting like a plough as he rushed faster and faster. The Scorpion was stuck to the arm like a fly, while the soldiers started shooting at them. Kariya was bouncing around, trading blows with Washington. Despite his improved body, he wasn't doing too well. Meanwhile, Caboose was busy shooting everything around him. One shot blew a hole in the road straight ahead of him. Kariya jumped off as the tank fell partly into the hole and was sandwiched between it and the Goliath. But team Berserker didn't even stop as they were engulfed by the fireball.

"Well, so much for that idea." Risei said. "But if we look ahead, Saber is in a heated battle with Lancer! Illya, do you have something to say to your father?"

"*BLEEP* THEM UP LIKE YOU *BLEEP* MOMMY!" Illya shouted at the top of her voice, scaring Risei with her language.

"You… seem to know a lot of nasty words, little lady."

"My mommy taught me so I can support daddy."

Back in the action, Saber and Lancer were trading blows as they travelled side-by-side. Now, a sword is much better suited for drive-by fighting, leaving Lancer at a disadvantage. Meanwhile, Kayneth used Volumen to disarm Emiya repeatedly. As Saber knocked Lancer's lance aside again, they managed to pull ahead. So Lancer reached back to the Behemoth's spine, and ripped out the large horn. It turned out to be a massive blade, which she started swinging with gusto.

"Holy shit!" Risei shouted. "Lancer just pulled out a massive fucking sword from the Behemoth! Kayneth must be shouting with joy right now!"

"I want my mommy!" Kayneth yelled as he ducked underneath the sword swings. Now both sides were even as they traded blows again and again. Whenever one side pulled ahead, the other would start going on the offensive and swing up beside them. As they pulled away from each other, that was when Avenger rushed ahead between them.

"Out of the way, you scurvy bastards!" Rast shouted as their troll wobbled ahead. She was so busy laughing, that she didn't notice they were heading for the cliff-face. The troll started screaming and waving its arms as Avenger pushed Rast off of it. They rolled onto a bush as the troll impacted against the wall, somehow exploding in a fiery blast as it did. "You saved me." Rast said. "You saved my sexy ass." She gave Avenger a lusty grin. "And I know just how to thank you." She pulled Avenger behind the bush, as their clothes started flying everywhere. As Saber and Lancer passed, they could hear the two ladies giggle.

"Ok, enough with the two ladies *bleep*ing!" Illya yelled. "Right now, Assassin, Rider, and Avenger are all out of the running!"

"Indeed!" Risei continued, his nose bloody and plugged with tissues. "Up in front, Archer and Caster have been neck-in-neck! But Caster is slowing down now! What will happen next?!"

What happened, was that Caster finally had enough Jupiter djinn to summon Thor. He and Sola hopped onto his massive hammer as it flew through the air. He finally managed to get ahead of Archer, whooping as the flew onwards. But Archer pulled out a massive blocky weapon with 9 holes on the front. Large rockets fired after Caster, tracking him despite his Thor's best efforts. They flew way off-course until they were over the city when the rockets smashed into them. Thor and his hammer smashed down on another unfortunate building.

"NO!" Risei yelled again. "My private safehouse filled with porn and loli mannequins!" Everyone stared at him again, while Illya started scooting away with haste. "I mean, my holy tomes and combat dummies! Stop blowing up my shit!"

"Whatever!" Lancer yelled. "Time to take the lead!" She paused as she heard loud rumbling, looking back to see Berserker thundering up her ass. "Oh no you don't!" She swung her blade at the Goliath's arm, where it bit deep. But the sword was stuck, leaving her open for Berserker to slam into her. As the two traded blows – or, more accurately, Berserker beat the stuffing out of her – Kariya started yelling.

"Not to be a killjoy or anything, but WHO'S DRIVING THIS THING?!" Everyone looked up to see that they were about to crash through the safety railing and go over the cliff. The Goliath was moving too fast to turn or stop.

"Well." Berserker simply said. "That happened." And they all yelled as the monsters ran off the road and crashed into the forest below.

"And with that, Lancer and Berserker are out of the running!" Risei shouted. "Amazing how many creatures apparently can't drive themselves! So now it's down to Archer and Saber! Who will win?! Who will be victorious?! We're about to find out!"

Saber managed to pull up beside Archer, slashing with his sword. But Archer intercepted with his wrench, that somehow survived the deadly blow. He quickly used a creature to belch Saber away from him. His whole strategy seemed to be to keep Saber at arm's length for the rest of the race. Luckily, he didn't have much further to go.

"Clank!" Archer shouted. "Do we still have any boost?!"

"One more charge!" Clank replied.

"Alright then. Prepare for…" They were interrupted as Saber's sword impaled the bike's engine. As it started burning, Saber rode up beside them and pushed ahead. But Archer got out an orange shotgun and blasted Saber and Emiya with full power. They slowed down as they fell off Invincible, letting Archer and Tohsaka jump on as their bike started exploding.

"I Don't believe this!" Risei was amazed. "Archer and Tohsaka have stolen Saber's horse! Well, there's nothing against the rules against that!"

"*Bleep* that *bleep*!" Illya started shouting. "C'mon Dad, you *bleep*er! Start bashing that *bleep*head's *bleep*ing *bleep* in! Make him *bleep* sideways, *bleep*!"

"I think your parents need remedial lessons in proper teaching." Risei muttered, until Archer's bike exploded as it crashed into a large shed. "No! My hidden storage locker filled with dollies!"

"I'm not even surprised at this point." Illya muttered. "Seriously, where'd you get all that stuff?" But Risei was too busy sobbing his head off as another private collection went up in smoke.

Archer cheered as he crossed over the finish-line, with the other Servants glaring at him. As he walked down the street to the podium, he noted everyone who hated him.

Assassin and Rider were hard to decipher. They didn't seem upset about losing. They just gave him a nod as he passed. Rider's men were much more vocal. They kept shouting about how he cheated, or fucked things up for them. They seemed to forget that he never fought them. The red one was strangely choking the orange one. Lancer and Berserker were sharpening their weapons against stone walls, promising him death. Caster waved at him and shouted encouragement, as his mistress sat on Kayneth's battered and bandaged body. He blushed as he passed Avenger and Rast, who seemed to forgotten their clothes and were wearing half the bush instead. Finally, he passed by Saber, who while giving him a glare of nightmares, nodded in respect for a great warrior.

"Congratulations, Archer." Irisviel said to him, dressed in a showgirl bikini while holding onto the Holy Grail. "You managed to win against all odds. You deserve this, and your wish."

"Indeed." Risei said, crying as he stood by the church. "And though I've lost priceless collections, garnered several complaints, and am currently under investigation by the Church, at least I still have the church itself." He patted the wall as he spoke, before the whole thing collapsed in on itself. As he stood there crying some more, several clergymen showed up and dragged him off in chains.

"Well then." Iri said, ignoring the disgraced priest. "What is your greatest wish? Power? Wealth? Or would you like to see what's under this bikini?" They all ignored Emiya's spluttering, or Illya trying to bash her brains out on the side of the fallen church.

"What I want," Archer said. "Is the biggest gun of all time." Appearing next to him wasn't so much a gun, as a walking barrel. It was the size of a large house, covered in endless barrels and rockets. Archer pointed it to the sky, and let off all the guns. Bullets pounded as rockets exploded, while blades and bombs pelted out of everywhere. They were so busy watching the display, that they almost missed seeing Iri's swimsuit get shredded. Rast promptly gave Iri her leaves, not caring that she stood naked. Archer whooped as he let off more firepower in his entire life.

And so the Fourth Holy Grail Grand Prix ended with a bang.

**Behold, the appearance of Red Vs Blue! God, I love that show.**

**This race really had me thinking. I didn't want Saber to win like in the anime, but I still ended up with all the other teams getting taken out before then. And for those who've played Kingdoms of Amalur, Rast loves you no matter what gender you are. So I had her as a sex-crazed lesbian in this.**

**And to those who haven't played it, I didn't exaggerate. One of the first things you get told about her is that she is a terrible captain. The second thing is that she's captain 12 ships in 12 years. And the third thing is that she crashed three ships with one wreck as a child. I'm surprised that Troll lasted as long as it did.**

**Finally, we heard pretty much all his Noble Phantasms by now. So I'll have Rider's stat sheet up.**

Rider

Name: Master Chief

Series: Halo

Master: Waver Velvet

Alignment: Lawful Good

Strength: A

Endurance: A

Agility: B

Magical Power: N/A

Good Luck: EX

Noble Phantasm: A++

Class Skills:

Riding (A+)

Riding is expertise to ride animals and vehicles. At this level Rider can ride anything he finds.

Personal Skills:

Bravery (A+)

Bravery is the ability to negate mental interference such as pressure, confusion and fascination. Not usable under the effects of Mad Enhancement. At this level there is a bonus effect of increasing all damage.

_No matter what he came across, Master Chief was unshakable in his determination._

Charisma (A)

Charisma is the natural talent to command an army. Increases the ability of allies during group battles. A rare talent, and an ability inherent to Servants of the Saver class. It is said that a rank of B in this skill is sufficient to lead a nation as its King. At this rank it can be said to have achieved the greatest level of popularity as a human being.

_Every human in his dimension instantly recognised Master Chief on sight, and would follow his order to the letter._

Clairvoyance (C)

Clairvoyance connotes superior visual perception and dynamic occipital capture, such as to supplement the long-range aiming of projectile weapons. At higher ranks, it is possible that the bearers of this skill have acquired such abilities as precognition ("future vision") and other forms of perception beyond standard eyesight (X-ray vision and so forth). At this rank Rider is capable of keeping track of fast-moving object within a range of 4kms.

_Rider had ocular implants that allow him to shoot distant targets with ease._

Eternal Arms Mastership (A+)

Eternal Arms Mastership prevents degradation of fighting skills when under the effect of mental hindrance. At this level mastership of combat arts has reached the point of being said to be unrivalled in one's era. By complete merging of mind, body and technique, it is possible to make use of full fighting skills even when under the influence of any sort of mental hindrance.

Expert of Many Specializations (B)

Expert of Many Specializations is access to and use of many expert skills. At this level Rider has mastered many skills relating to fighting.

_The SPARTAN Project ensured that all members were trained in as many skills as they could, so as to combat all threats both known and unknown. _

Eye of the Mind (False) (A)

It refers to a natural talent to avoid danger on the basis of an innate 6th sense, intuition, or prescience, where accuracy of instinct has been augmented by experience - somewhat overcoming the problem of visual obstructions that appear in the course of combat. The ability grants an effect of offering resistance against penalties caused by visual obstructions.

_After spending so much time fighting, Master Chief can almost always plan for incoming threats._

Guardian Knight (A+)

Guardian Knight temporarily raises defensive power when protecting others.

At this level one is given unlimited powers of protection.

_Master Chief gave his life to defend Humanity from Alien invaders._

Instinct (A)

Instinct is the power to "feel" the most favourable developments for oneself during battle. At this rank one has a refined sixth sense that is now close to true precognition. Bonus effect of reducing by half the penalties caused by obstructed vision and hearing.

_Master Chief's ocular implants allow him to see much further, and his tactical training has helped him develop good instincts._

Natural Body (C)

Natural Body is the possession of a perfect body as a living being from birth. The owner of this Skill is treated as if his STR is always Rank-Up.

_Due to implants and training, Master Chief is at the peak of his physical capability, if not beyond._

Pioneer of the Stars (EX)

Pioneer of the Stars is the unique Skill given to heroes that became turning points in the human history. All difficult voyages and challenges which are considered "impossible" turn into "events that can be realized".

_By killing the High Prophets of the Covenant, and Wiping out the Flood, Master Chief changed the course of the entire war and save Humanity._

Revelation (N/A)

Revelation is a Skill equivalent to Instinct, a sixth sense regarding battles; however, "Revelation" accommodates all matters related to the achievement of a goal (for instance, choosing the most suitable path while traveling). Because there is no basis it cannot be explained to others clearly.

_Master Chief had such good luck, he could always find a way to complete his missions._

Noble Phantasms:

Place An M85 Down By My Feet. (Anti-Unit)

Master Chief calls down a drop pod containing specific weapons. Note that he must still reach it and anyone can use the weapons.

Forward Unto Dawn

Chief summons either a vehicle from UNSC Forward unto Dawn or the vessel itself.

You're the Solider they Need You to Be.

Cortana activates powerful equipment one time only. Equipment includes Overshield, invisibility, autosentry, hardlight shield, hologram, jet pack, promethean vision, regeneration shield and thrusters pack. All items can run out of battery power.

They'll Regret That Too (Anti-Army)

Master Chief opens a reality marble based on the Halo Snowrunner area. Inside is a massive human army 40,000 men strong.


	11. Curiosity Killed the Priest

**Here we go. The finale of last week's fights. Finally, we'll start whittling down the number of combatants**. **Sorry it took so long. I just liked all of them, and I wanted** **us to get to know them a bit better. Sorry if your favourites don't make it, but in the Grail War, there can only be one winner.**

Chapter 11: Curiosity Killed The Priest

**(9:30pm, Abandoned Warehouse)**

Lancer roared again as she charged Assassin. Though he dodged as best as he could, his shields were really taking a beating. His weapons were slowing it down, but only just. Lancer slashed again and again, shrugging off Decepti0n-enhanced hits like nothing. Assassin activated 'Skill Reset', switching to close range. Though it was suicidal, it might give him a weak-spot. He blocked a blow with his sword, but the follow-up cut deep grooves in his side. Feeling woozy, he charged forward, letting his hologram take the damage. He looked at all of Lancer with his visor, looking for something, anything.

There! A red line appeared on his HUD, right where her neck was. Running up her arm, waiting for the last moment, he slashed at the line. Lancer knocked him off in reflex. They both just stood there, until Lancer's neck spurted blood. She screamed as she returned to normal, as she faded away. Assassin hobbled off back to the church, where he would recuperate the damage.

Far away, Kayneth gasped as his command seals faded. He knew what that meant.

Lancer had been eliminated.

**(11:00pm, Halo Marble)**

Waver watched in awe as the two Servants clashed. Rider's UNSC seemed massive, but Archer's weapons were wiping them out. Their effects were unbelievable. They were making tornados, electric balls, electric nets, burps, lasers, robots. A couple were even playing music! He ducked as rockets smashed into a spaceship, bringing it crashing to the ground. Archer's robot flew around, destroying every spaceship in his way. Several vehicles and soldiers were being pulled into black holes even, and animals ran around squealing. High above, a giant tentacle monster pulled in anything it could get its tentacles on. Their ammo seemed limitless.

But if he looked carefully, he noticed gaps in the wall of guns. Weapons that had run out of ammo and faded away. More and more dropped with every passing second, until there were none in the sky. And there were still UNSC marines on the ground.

They charged forward, guns blazing, while Archer hid behind a shield. He reached out for a weapon that had remained hidden until now. It was a bronze gun with a blue needle sticking out the front. Rider pulled up on a Mongoose, grabbing Waver as they fled. The weapon opened up as Archer pointed it at the sky. Three sides spun as lightning charged. It exploded in a flash of light, the explosion consuming everything. Rider raced to clear it as the Halo Marble vanished from the explosion. Waver saw the Ringworld fall apart and burn. A massive section hurtled towards them. But the Marble faded before it could hit, leaving them back in the park. Rider quickly turned around, dropping Waver off by a tree. He rushed back at Archer who threw his fire-whip at the mongoose. Rider jumped as the vehicle exploded. A jet pack allowed him to fly, shooting at Archer as he flew. Archer kept dodging, throwing his whip at Rider. With a few beeps, Rider dropped down, keeping a shield between him and Archer. The shield broke, but Rider had gotten close enough. The whip faded as it ran out of ammo, but Archer switched to claws. He rushed forward with blinding speed, breaking through Rider's personal shield and slashing his armour. Rider fired off his shotgun, before a green glow surrounded him. He grabbed a fallen rail-gun, and aimed at Archer. He fired a blast, knocking Archer down. As he fired another, the robot got in the path. As he faded, Archer pulled out a flail. It smashed right on top of Rider, filling the air with the smell of burnt flesh.

"Rider!" Waver cried, rushing forward to him. Rider looked at him as he faded.

"Don't worry…Sir." Rider said. "SPARTANS…never die." And with that, Rider was gone.

Waver looked at Archer, who had removed his helmet and was looking at the place his robot fell with sadness.

"Looks like we both lost someone close to us." Archer said. "I think… I think the best way we can honour them, is by keep going forward."

Waver nodded, tears in his eyes. He would do it. He would gain everyone's admiration. For Rider.

**(7:00am Thursday, Miyama Town)**

Saber looked at their new base in silence. While it was nowhere as defensible as the Castle, it's decrepit appearance made it less noticeable. Sometimes the best base it the one no-one ever suspects.

Besides, the Castle hadn't kept out Lancer, Berserker or Assassin.

"It's very quaint, isn't it Saber." Irisviel said, smiling as she looked at it too. "It's so very…unusual." Maiya waked closer with a set of keys in her hand. "Thank you Maiya. Saber, could you unlock the gate?"

Saber raised an eyebrow. Irisviel may have been injured recently, but his knowledge of magic **should** have healed her. Was there a flaw in his magic? Or was she hiding something from him? Either way, the best way to find out is to let Irisviel tell him on her own accord. As he grabbed the keys he noticed a rusty key amongst the newer one, like something from his time.

"What does this key open?" He asked Maiya. "In my time, such oddities opened ancient dungeons and vaults."

Maiya smirked at him. "Nothing quite so fancy. It just opens a storehouse in the yard. While it's nothing special, it is solidly built." As long as it could work as a panic room Saber didn't really care. "In fact the whole place is a bit lacking in necessities."

"Well, this was a rushed buy." Irisviel replied. "And as long as it keeps us out of the rain, that is sufficient." Maiya nodded, before hopping in her car and driving off. Though she clearly didn't like the Servant, she at least trusted him enough to guard Irisviel. "Come Saber. Let's explore our new place."

"I suppose." He said. "Who knows what things have moved in since it was last inhabited."

The house looked worse past the front gate. Grass grew almost to Saber's waist around a dead tree. But Irisviel didn't care. She just said that it felt like a haunted mansion, and how she had always wanted to see a Japanese Mansion. "Do you think Kiritsugu remembered?"

"Most likely this was one of the few places that could be bought on such short notice and for so little." Saber replied, bursting her bubble. "Berserker didn't give us much time to grab supplies or cash."

"True." She sighed. They walked through the house, Saber disappointed that there was nothing to surprise them. Honestly, back in Azeroth you couldn't leave your house for a day without some Murloc or Goblin or even an Ogre moving in. Irisviel sighed as they left the main hall.

"Let me guess." Saber smirked. "This isn't quite to your standards, is it?"

"Oh no. It's fine as a house, but for a Mage it has a few flaws. Though the bounded field is well-made, all these doors give the magic a lot of ways to escape. I would prefer something closed off, and made of stone or clay."

"Like a secure storehouse?" He asked as he got the keys out of his pocket. They went back to the yard, to the one place they hadn't yet explored. Once Saber got the door opened, Irisviel giggled as she went in.

"It's a bit small, but it'll be perfect for my spells. But there's a lot of work to do. Saber, if you could help me set up my circle. The mercury will be the trickiest. If you could get the ingredients in the trunk please."

"You do realise that if my magic has left invalid in any way, it would help to tell me as soon as possible?"

Irisviel sighed. "You're right Saber. I couldn't keep this hidden for much longer anyway." Irisviel stepped closer, and without the living pressing against his senses, he noticed that she seemed less alive than before. "If you could give me your hand? I'm going to squeeze it as hard as I can, with as much force as I can." Saber offered his hand, wondering as she grabbed it. He could see her fingers trembling, but he felt no more pressure than when children held him as a prince. "I assure you, I'm not pretending. This is really all I can do right now."

"It appears that I have forgotten much more of healing than I realised."

"Oh, it's not your fault Saber. I suppose you might say that this is a flaw inherent in my creation."

"Well when I create things, I at least make sure it works right. To me, there is no such thing as an inherent flaw. I would keep working until all flaws are removed."

"I'm afraid that the Einzberns are not quite as driven as you are Saber. But it does mean that I'll be depending on you for some things."

Saber frowned. He could easily tell that Irisviel was still keeping something from him. Something powerful was growing inside of her, but somehow on a separate dimension. It felt familiar. But regardless, he knew that all would come to light in due time. "Alright. But I'll leave dressing and bathing you to Maiya. I don't want Emiya getting the wrong idea." He left to get the materials from the car. Perhaps by being close to her, he could study the power source better.

**(Unknown)**

_Tokiomi was standing on a cliff-looking world. Somehow he knew it was called Veldin. Not far from him, Archer was working on a spaceship. He was wearing only overalls and lacked a shirt. Archer sighed as a computer read out the next instruction, an item he obviously didn't possess. Suddenly, something fell out of the sky not too far from him. Archer ran to it, blasting strange creatures and robots as he went. When he arrived, he found his robot, Clank, lying in the rubble. He bought Clank back to his ship, before working on it some more. Clank woke up a bit later, and asked Archer for his help. It turned out that a 'Chairman Drek' was cutting apart planets to build a new home for the 'Blarg'. Clank hoped to find a great hero named Captain Quark to stop Drek's plan._

_Tokiomi was amazed as Archer travelled to different worlds, destroying entire armies with his strange weapons. After winning a hover-board race, Archer found Quark, who invited the two of them to his secret base. But when they got there, it turned out that Quark was working for Drek. He only cared about his fame and glory, and left them to die. They killed his beast, but their friendship soured. Archer wanted to get revenge on Quark, while Clank wanted to stop Drek. Only the fact that Clank had an important part in him stopped the two from separating. Eventually, the two friends made up, and stopped Quark together. They finally found Drek back on Veldin, where he explained his plan. __**He**__ had been the one who rendered his world uninhabitable. He was going to sell the new planet for millions, then ruin it and start over again and again. But despite his best efforts, Archer managed to destroy him and his new world._

_Archer and Clank became celebrities in the Solana Galaxy. Word of them even reached a company in another galaxy. Mr Fizzwidget, founder of Megacorp in the Bogon Galaxy, hired Archer to hunt down a thief. Archer chased him all over the galaxy, fighting his thugs everywhere before besting him and returning the stolen Protopet to Fizzwidget. When the thief ambushed them, his mask slipped off to show that __**he**__ was a __**she**__. And of the same species as Archer. 'Angela', as she was called, directed them to a top-secret video, showing that the cute little Protopet was actually a killer monster that would eat everything in sight. And Fizzwidget was going to sell it to the public._

_Archer rushed to find him, dealing with more thugs and Protopets. They found him at Megacorp headquarters, but it turned out that Fizzwidget was actually Quark! After Archer's deeds destroyed his reputation, Quark decided to create a menace to beat, earning back his place as a hero. And hopefully destroy Archer's reputation. But the device he was using malfunctioned, and instead of calming the Protopet, made it even bigger than before. Archer stopped the beast, and became even more famous. And Quark was punished by becoming a Megacorp testing dummy._

_After a few weeks of peace, Archer saw a news report stating that the Tyhrranoid species was attacking Veldin! Angered that someone was attacking his home, Archer rushed back to save it. He found out that they were being led by a powerful villain, who only one man had ever bested._

_Unbelievably, that man was Captain Quark. Quark had escaped Megacorp, and had hidden in a forest world for so long that he thought he was a monkey. They got his memory back, and his plans were pretty much have Archer do everything while he got the credit. The villain turned out to have been a Dr Nefarious, a classmate of Quark's. Unsurprisingly, Quark's actions had led to Nefarious becoming a villain, and Quark had accidently caused him to become a robot. Now Nefarious had a burning hatred for anything 'squishy'. He built a 'Biobliterator' to turn all organics into robots. After attacking his personal ship, Quark was thought dead. Archer found him on his frozen base, where the man had run to hide from Nefarious. Disgusted with Quark's cowardliness, Archer continued onwards, destroying the Biobliterator. But he had to attack Nefarious' base to destroy a second one. They were about to be attacked when Quark came back, providing enough distraction for Archer to destroy the Biobliterator._

_Weeks later, Archer was abducted for an underground arena show. He thought his way through all the challenges to rise to the top. He would've escaped, but the owner Gleeman Vox had rigged him with an explosive collar. Archer's friend Al was badly injured trying to remove the collars. Eventually, Archer began a one-man prison break, freeing everyone on the station. Vox tried to blow him and Archer up, along with all his fans, but Archer managed to stop him. He and Clank escaped as the station blew up with Vox inside._

_Months later, Solana was attacked by another threat called Emperor Tachyon, who had a personal vendetta against Archer. They escaped to the Polaris Galaxy, where they found out why Tachyon hated him. Tachyon was a Cragmite, a ruthless species that was stopped by Archer's people, the Lombaxes. They sent the Cragmites to another dimension, and found Tachyon's egg all alone. They raised him like a son, but when he found out about his heritage, he was furious that they would pity him. He used their technology to chase the Lombaxes to another dimension, and then tried his best to bring the Cragmite back using the Lombaxes greatest creation. The Dimensionator. Archer managed to stop him, but afterwards Clank was taken by a 'helpful' race called the Zoni. Archer followed every clue he could find, helped by a friend called Talwyn, and found out that Clank was being kept in 'The Great Clock'._

_And was being fixed by Dr Nefarious._

_After even more gruelling adventures, Archer managed to get Clank back, aided by another Lombax called Azimuth. Azimuth had been the one who gave Tachyon technology, and was left behind in punishment. He planned on using The Great Clock to undo his mistake, just like Nefarious planned on using it to undo all good in the universe. But Clank explained that the Clock was meant to stabilise time, not control it._

_After stopping Nefarious, Azimuth attacked Archer, determined to undo the past. Clank used to the Clock to save him from dying, and then they had a massive fight in the control room. Eventually, Azimuth realised he was making the same mistake again, dooming everyone to pain and misery. He gave his life to stop the Clock, something that always stayed with Archer._

_Weeks later, Archer had to save all the Galaxies from another insane man, who was stealing entire planets to make his own Galaxy. Archer sent him to another dimension, while Quark somehow became President of the Polaris Galaxy._

"_I would've picked a rock instead of him." Tokiomi thought. "At least the rock wouldn't create problems through stupidity._

_Archer, Clank and Quark were attacked again by Nefarious, who had to aid them when his monster started rampaging. They were abducted again, ending up on a very strange world. After working together to find out what was going on, they found out that another evil species called the Loki were gathering dangerous creatures to inhabit and conquer the Universe. The four of them stopped the Lokis, before Nefarious was rescued by his butler robot._

_After that, an ex-fan of Quark's, Zurgo, threatened the Galaxy to destroy Quark. But Archer and Clank helped to destroy his plan. Afterwards, Archer helped to transport a dangerous and psychotic villainess called Vendra Prog. Using a strange magic, Vendra and her brother Neftin planned on opening a rift to their home dimension, determined to find their people. But Vendra's friend, Mr Eye, had merely used her to enter Archer's dimension and conquer it. Archer and Neftin worked together to rescue Vendra and stop the Nether creatures. After more adventures, Archer and Neftin got the Dimensionator and used it to bring Vendra back. Archer managed to distract Mr Eye with lots and lots of firepower, while Vendra and Neftin sent all the nether creatures back home, before agreeing to go to jail. The Dimensionator was badly damaged, but Archer decided that he didn't need to find his people. _

_He had everything he needed where he was._

**(4:00pm, Matou Basement)**

Kariya coughed as he woke up. He blinked several times before his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He grimaced. Once again, he found himself in Zouken's basement. He stood up, noting that Berserker had cleared away all traces of his work.

"Lesson 1." Berserker's voice echoed as he walked down the stairs. "You're not invincible. It took me an hour to find your burnt carcass, and then I had to go and find you something to heal from. Pain in the ass, since you gotta find someone that nobody gives a shit about."

"What happened?" Kariya asked.

"You tell me. Burnt to a crisp and with so many holes you were barely holding together. I lost your arm partway along. Man that was a bitch to find again."

"I…I was going to get revenge on Tohsaka. For Sakura. I even told him to come alone. But…there were drones protecting him."

"Well at least **try **not to get yourself killed, alright? I don't plan on losing." Berserker had another needle in his hand, injecting Kariya in the arm. "This is all the work I've done on replicating Magic Circuits. Theoretically, you'll be stronger than he is."

Kariya nodded. He'll need a new plan though. Tokiomi won't fall for that trick again.

But he will have Sakura's revenge.

**(5:00pm, Tokiomi Mansion)**

Tokiomi was wandering the house, wondering where Archer was. He could've used a command seal to have appear, but that was a frivolous waste when he could just walk around. It took nearly an hour, but he found Archer sitting on the roof. As Tokiomi got closer, he noticed that Clank was missing.

He frowned as he put facts together. "Which Servant killed Clank?"

Archer started, not having noticed him there. "Oh. Hey Master. I…I lost Clank to Rider. He sacrificed himself so that I could kill Rider."

"I'm sorry for your loss." And he was. He had seen the two become firm friends, watched as they overcame mountainous odds to save each other. And the fact they never actually died meant that Clank might never come back. "And Rider's master?"

Archer seemed to stare at the horizon as he remembered the walk back.

**(11:30pm Wednesday, Fuyuki City)**

_Archer didn't really notice where he was walking. He could've walked the entire planet and he wouldn't have realised. All he knew was that Rider's master, Waver Velvet, was leading the way. He looked both afraid and sad. Afraid for his safety, and sad for the loss of his friend._

"_Hey, Archer?" He finally asked after a while. "Not that I'm complaining, but why are you following me?"_

_Archer shrugged. "You're not part of this War anymore. I'm just making sure that you make it back safely."_

"_Oh." Waver said, and then they walked in silence again. "I'm…I'm sorry for your robot. You must've really cared about each other."_

"_We did. He was my best friend. I would've done anything to save him. And I'm sorry about Rider. But there can only be one winner."_

"_I know." Waver sighed. "You know, before I summoned Rider my wish was to show everyone that I was strong. But Rider showed me that you can't just wish for it. You have to prove you're strong. Earn their respect. I'd probably be moping about, whining instead of doing." Waver looked very determined. "I'm going to get stronger. I won't let Rider down. And maybe someday I can be a tenth as great as he was."_

_Archer chuckled. "You do that kid."_

"_What are you going to do?"_

"_Me? I'm going to win this thing. I'm going to bring back Clank."_

"_But you only get one wish. If you use it on Clank, you'll never return home."_

"_And I came back without Clank, I won't be able to live with myself. I'm smart enough to build a spaceship. And I'll try to get to the nearest space-faring species."_

"_And if they're not friendly?"_

"_Half of everyone I've met hasn't been friendly." Archer laughed. "I'll just keep going. I'll find another ship. And maybe the Great Clock has some Cryogenics Chambers or something. I won't give up. I never give up."_

_Waver smiled, looking even more determined. "Then neither will I."_

"_If I win, I hope to meet you again before I leave. If I don't, I hope you succeed in whatever you do."_

**(Tohsaka Mansion)**

"He wasn't a threat anymore." Archer finally said. "I had no reason to kill him."

Tokiomi sighed. "I'm glad. Though magic must be kept secret, there's no reason to kill everyone you see." They sat there on the roof for a while, before Tokiomi decided to breach a theory he had. "Archer, I saw your memories just before. I think I might have a theory on why you're a Heroic Spirit."

Archer looked at him, removing his helmet, before signalling to continue. "Because I saw it in your memories, I assume you recall that time you died in the Great Clock?"

"Clank told me about it. And there was a feeling of deja'vu."

"Due to your past actions, when you died your soul must've been imprinted on the Throne of Heroes. But because Clank changed the past, you were both alive and dead to it. And your imprint changed to match the new legends and stories about your deeds."

"So, you think I might not be the **real** Ratchet? I might be the legend of him?"

"Perhaps, though I'm no expert on these things. The Einzberns made the magic to summon spirits. Who knows what your Great Clock might've done. But it could still mean hope for you. And Clank."

Archer smiled. "Thank you Sir. I'm going to do everything I can to win you the Grail. Or I'll die making sure you're safe."

Tokiomi smiled and raised his glass. "To Clank."

Archer raised his gloved fist. "To Clank."

They clinked glass against gauntlet, toasting a fallen friend.

**(8:00pm, Unknown)**

_Kirei was seeing flashes. A man here. A woman there. All dying from bullet wounds and sword strikes._

_And in every scene, Assassin was there with the killing blow._

_Kirei looked on as Assassin cornered another man. Instead of killing him, Assassin was ordering him to fight back, to give him a challenge. But instead, the bandit begged and pleaded, ending only when Assassin slit his throat._

_Then Assassin was in a bar, looking for bounties. But the ones on offer weren't appealing. They didn't offer a challenge. He talked to the bartender, but a loud mouth kept insulting him. The bartender offered a challenge of getting the man to shut up. Assassin silenced him by cutting his head off. The bartender, fearing for his life, offered more challenges. But none were worthy of his skill._

_Until he mentioned the Vault._

_A massive trove of uncountable wealth, whoever claimed it would be set for life and after. Thousands were clamouring across the Galaxy to claim it. Monsters unrivalled for centuries would stand in their way. And there might even be a guardian in the way._

_Challenge Accepted._

_Hyperion had trains set up for all Vault Hunters, where Assassin met five others. Axton, ex-Dahl soldier, used a standard Dahl-edition turret; Maya, Siren, used her powers to suspend enemies in the air; Salvador, Pandoran local, can use two guns at once; Gaige, cyborg, had a personal killer robot; and Krieg, psycho, used an axe, had a crush for Maya. They were an odd bunch, but they proved themselves to him when it turned out that the train was a trap. They fought their way to the back, where Hyperion's CEO Handsome Jack was. Inside, they found an entire compartment of explosives._

_Assassin thought themselves lucky to have survived._

_They were found by Claptrap, a small annoying robot. He led them to shelter, where his eye was removed by a Bullymong, Knuckle Dragger. As Claptrap was their only way to civilisation, the Vault Hunters had to go and get it back. At least they got some good loot from his guts. According to a helpful AI, Angel, They should meet up with the Crimson Raiders, and help overthrow Jack. Assassin agreed. Jack made a dangerous enemy. It didn't help that he contacted them to insult them all the time._

_Claptrap led them to Liar's Berg, where they saved Sir Hammerlock from Captain Flynt's bandits. After helping getting the place back online and finding better equipment, The Vault Hunters followed Claptrap to Flynt's lair. They peppered him full of bullets, before taking a boat to Three Horns to find the Raider's base._

_Once they got there, they had to rescue a raider before they would be allowed in. Sadly, he didn't make it, but they made the bandits pay. After being allowed in, they met up with the leader of the Raiders, Roland. He was one of the first Vault Hunters, and was trying to free Pandora from Hyperion. After completing some jobs for him, They found out that he had been captured by Bandits while out on a mission. With the help of Firehawk, who turned out to be another Vault Hunter named Lilith, they got into their base and freed Roland. Hyperion sent in some robots to get him, but they weren't even a hassle._

_Later, Angel contacted them to tell them that one of the Key fragments was going to be on a train travelling through Tundra Express. With the aid of Tiny Tina and the Vault Hunter Mordercai, they managed to stop the train. After killing Wilhelm, Jack's right hand man, they found an experimental power source on board instead. Angel said that the power source could keep Sanctuary's shields up forever. They installed it, and everything was looking up._

_That was when Jack ordered Angel to betray them._

_Using the connection to the power, Angel deactivated the shields, letting Hyperion's loaders into Sanctuary. The hunters fended them off, powering up the city's engines, and watched as the whole thing flew away and warped somewhere else thanks to Lilith. They then had to fight their way to a Hyperion outpost so that they could link Sanctuary with the Fast Travel network again. It took forever, but the six of them blasted through everything in their way. After linking up with the other, Angel contacted them again. She said that she didn't have a choice, but if they wanted to hurt Jack, they need to get the Vault Key. Good news, it was with her. Bad news, she was in the Bunker, the most heavily guarded place on Pandora. Getting in was suicide._

_Challenge Accepted._

_They headed for Hyperion's city, Opportunity, to acquire Jack's double's bio-signature and voice modulator. After that, they went to Thousand Cuts to get the aid of the Slab King. Turns out that he was the final founder of the Crimson Raiders, Brick. With everything they had, they fought their way to the Bunker, which was guarded by a massive robot. They nearly died a few times, but they sent in crashing to the bottom of the cliff. Inside the Bunker they found the key and Angel, who turned out to be another Siren. And Jack's daughter. She begged them to unplug her from the network, as Jack had been pumping her full of Eridium to charge the key. Without it, she would die. But then Jack would have to wait centuries to open the Vault. They gave her a mercy kill, but Jack showed up and killed Roland in a fit of cold fury and captured Lilith. The Vault Hunters had to run away, but vowed to stop Jack. They headed for the Vault, killing everything in their way and getting stronger and better loot. They reached the inner sanctum, after having torn apart everything Hyperion. But Jack had gotten there first, holding a charged key. He opened The Vault, releasing an ancient weapon. The Destroyer._

_Challenge Accepted._

_The Vault Hunters worked together, chipping away at the beast. But as it was about to die, it charged at the others. Assassin had accepted them, called them friends, and he wasn't about to lose them. With his Decepti0n skill unavailable, he taunted the beast, letting off one final shot as it fell upon him. He died, knowing that they had won._

_He died, knowing that Jack would die._

_He died, knowing that his friends would live on._

**(Fuyuki Church Basement)**

Risei walked down the hall, wondering what it was he was to find down here. Kirei told him that there was something unusual here, but was too tired to lead him. He had just handed him a paper with room numbers, and went to sleep.

Risei worried for him. He hoped that Kirei would survive this War. True, no one apart from Viggato and the murderer had passed away, but the incidents with the children made him worry for his own son.

He stopped, having reached the first room. He turned the handle, surprised that it wasn't locked. He could've sworn that all the rooms had been locked when he arrived. Opening the door slowly, he shone his flashlight into the room.

And nearly screamed in horror.

Flesh and growths covered every inch of the room. Tendrils slithered round the place, twitching slightly. As he stared, a growth burst open, releasing a monster from inside. It turned to leave, when it started sniffing. It charged at the door without warning, crashing right through it. Risei jumped back, before moving to punch the beast. Though he landed a solid blow, the creature didn't even budge. Quickly punching it in the face, Risei ran down the hall. As he reached the corner, the creature nearly slammed into him, cutting his hand as it ran into the wall. Risei managed to reach the upper levels, the beast's howling following him. As he slowed down, he felt weaker than ever. Old age must be getting to him. But he looked at the wound he suffered, and nearly recoiled. Tendrils were dancing up his arm as it became monstrous.

He knew he didn't have long. Already he felt that he was turning. He scribbled a final message for Kirei, before gripping his neck and snapping it like a wishbone.

Risei corpse dropped to the ground as the tendrils stopped moving.

**Damn. I had to fit a lot of memories into this chapter. Sorry if anyone expected more action, but things will be heating up as we continue. And anyone complaining about how Assassin killed Lancer, Ragnarok is about physical strength. But Zer0 had already fought the Destroyer, which is pretty much a similar creature. So he already knew what to do. And as for Archer, well he kills armies all on his own. Plus, several of his weapons are for close-combat, and can destroy tanks. No MJOLNIR Armour could survive that. Anyway, sorry for anyone rooting for Rider and Lancer. Better luck next time.**

**And now, here's Assassin's Stat Sheet**

Assassin

Name: Zer0

Series: Borderlands

Master: Kirei Kotomine

Alignment: True Neutral

Strength: D

Endurance: B

Agility: A

Magical Power: E

Good Luck: B

Noble Phantasm: A

Class Skills:

Presence Concealment (A+)

Presence Concealment is the capacity to hide one's presence as a Servant. It is a common skill to the Assassin class. At this rank it is possible to disappear completely and become almost impossible to be detected. However, efficiency will decrease once preparations to attack are taken.

_As a hitman/thing, Zer0 has had previous skill in attacking stealthily._

Personal Skills:

Clairvoyance (C)

Clairvoyance connotes superior visual perception and dynamic occipital capture, such as to supplement the long-range aiming of projectile weapons. At higher ranks, it is possible that the bearers of this skill have acquired such abilities as precognition ("future vision") and other forms of perception beyond standard eyesight (X-ray vision and so forth). At this rank Assassin is capable of keeping track of fast-moving object within a range of 4kms.

Projectile (Daggers) (B)

Projectile (Daggers) is the expertise for throwing projectile weapons; in this case, daggers. At this rank thrown projectile weapons are now comparable to bullets.

_One of Zer0's skills involve throwing kunai, ninja daggers._

Subversive Activities (A)

Subversive Activities is the talent to reduce the enemy forces in the preliminary stages, before going into battle. An expert of traps. However, the higher is the ranking of this Skill, the more one's spiritual status as a hero declines. At this level it is possible to disable nearly 60% of the total military force before the enemy advances.

_Zer0's main job in his group of Vault Hunters was to sabotage and assassinate key figures, causing confusion for the others._

Noble Phantasms:

Challenge Accepted (Anti-Unit)

Zer0 uses his Decepti0n skill to stealth and unleashes a holographic double. The longer he waits before it expires, the higher the damage he can inflict.

Skill Reset

Zer0 resets his skills into sniping (long range damage), Cunning (increases Decepti0n skill), or Bloodshed (close range damage)

**Oh, and before I forget, here is another Omake. I've got at least another one after this, so enjoy.**

Once again, all the Servants were called back to the church. They even invited Rider and Lancer, despite the fact that the two had been written off. Right now, they were bitchin about how they should've won their fight. Well, Lancer was bitchin. Rider was trying to hire Archer for his war.

They all stopped their chatter as Risei Kotomine stepped into the church room, a nervous smile on his face.

"Wait a minute." Saber said, pointing at the priest. "Didn't you just die right now?"

"I got better." Risei replied. "Anyway, I called you all here for an important announcement."

"Priest, we'd better not be broke again." Saber warned him, drawing his blade slightly.

Risei laughed. "Don't be ridiculous. We're not broke." Everyone sighed in relief. "We're bankrupt. Completely different."

"WHAT?" They all shouted at him.

"But we stole enough gold to fund this 10 times over." Caster complained.

"I know. But Halos are expensive. Especially when you miss the fine-print about extra cost in case of, oh say, some trigger-happy cat blowing the entire thing apart. And we had to cover the Dock costs, medical bills, repairing the castle, hiring all those soldiers, and lets not forget all the ammo used during that climatic fight."

"So what now?" Berserker asked. "Are we going to do more Disney parodies."

"Of course not. No one wants to see another bunch of parodies. Instead, we're going to show the spirit of giving." Everyone looked at him in confusion. "We're going to celebrate Christmas!"

"IT'S THE MIDDLE OF MAY, YOU IDIOT!" The entire city heard them all shouting at him, and anyone out and about would've seen the priest get sent to the moon by the force of their shouting. They then would've seen the moon pull out a tennis racket from behind its back, and smack him back to the church.

Weirder things have happened.

**(**/*\**)**

All around the house, all was quiet. Not the squeak, or a snore, or a whisper could be heard.

Except for the grunting as a large knight tried to crawl down the too-small chimney.

But Saber wasn't going to give up. If a stupid fat man could get down these, then a god like him could do the same. By the time he managed to extract himself out of the chimney, everyone had woken up, the children realising it was Christmas. They rushed to the living room, waiting for good old Santa to bring them joy. But instead, they got a grumpy undead god painted red, with what was hopefully paint.

"Ho, ho, ho." Saber grunted. "Merry _fucking_ Christmas. Now here's your damn toys." He upended the sack over their heads, showing them with several cheap, old, broken toys. As they sat there in the mess, crying their eyes out, Saber smacked the father into the wall, raided the fridge for some beer, and smashed his way out the wall.

Which is why evil lich gods make poor Santas.

**(**/*\**)**

Lancer didn't seem to get the spirit of Christmas any more than Saber did. She seemed to equate the spirit of giving as giving them some love. Now, only a sick would have a grown woman give strange children some love, so we won't do that.

She went straight for the dads, as any woman would. She was even courteous enough to include the mothers too, providing they weren't attacking her with a baseball bat.

So the children sulked over not getting any toys, while the parents gave the skimpily-dressed Servant some alcohol as payment. And an apology for any damage done to the beds.

Guess heroines didn't make any better Santas either.

**(**/*\**)**

When Rider went out as Santa, he had two... no, three... helpful little elves with him. The lovely elves were Waver, Archer, and Clank. Which shows that Lombaxes make for good elves. They hovered high over the houses, dropping presents from cannons. The lucky boys and girls got wonderful toys and pets landing right on their bed, showering them in love and kindness. The unlucky ones, however, got broken toys landing everywhere except on the beds. And the _really _unlucky ones ended up with a cute little Protopet, which promptly ate them.

And so, Sci-fi war heroes made even less decent Santas.

**(**/*\**)**

Berserker didn't even try pretending this was in the spirit of Christmas. Instead of giving toys to the good girls and boys, he kidnapped the bad boys and girls, to be taken to his workshop to be improved.

...Wait, what?

"What? I'm the Krampus." Berserker told the narrator, dressed up as a goat man and carrying a sack full of kids. "I punish the naughty, instead of giving them coal."

... Moving on.

**(**/*\**)**

Finally, someone was putting an effort into the joy of Christmas. Caster and Avenger frolicked through the air, with Djinn flitting down the chimneys to greet the children. They squealed as the cute little critters handed them toys, even if it was the wrong toy. Which just goes to show, you can get away with anything if you're cute enough. The happy children rushed outside, hugging the two Servants with all their glee and giving them plates of cookies and milks.

And so the joy of giving finally got done right.

**(**/*\**)**

Up until Saber and Berserker, everyone thought that no other Servant could possibly mess up the season greetings any more than they did. No one could do worse than being a Grinch, or kidnapping children. Especially since Berserker sneaked back to grab all the _good_ boys and girls.

Guess everyone forgot about Assassin.

Oh he gave things out, that's true. But somewhere along the line, he forgot he was supposed to give out the toys, not use them as bait and hand out bullets. And grenades. And knives. And honestly, no one cares if you score five headshots on children, Assassin. It's tacky.

So much for Christmas.

**(**/*\**)**

"Right then." Risei said after everyone regrouped. "With the exception of Caster and Avenger, you all suck at Christmas. The Grinch _wishes_ he was horrible as you lot. But the good news, is that Fuyuki City is going to pay us to never ever do Christmas again."

"So now what?" Archer asked.

"Everyone, get on a flying creature. We're going to blackmail the shit out of them!"

And so if anyone looked up, they would've seen two dragons, Thor's hammer, a Buzzard helicopter, and a spaceship flying across the sky, dropping presents and playing Christmas carols.

And that is why the Holy Grail War is banned from ever doing Christmas. For ever.

**I originally had this idea back in December, when I first started writing this story. But Christmas came and went by the time I got round to putting this up, so I'm doing it in May. Hope you had fun reading it. Sorry it's a bit short.**

**(For those wondering, a Buzzard is a flying vehicle from Borderlands 2. You never get to drive one, but you shoot them down like it's Buzzard-season.)**


End file.
